An interventional study of Aerobic Treadmill Training and AI-Supported Adaptive Cognitive Training in Anemia, sponsored by Cairo University. Not yet recruiting at 1 site in Egypt. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 25 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-10-20.
Sponsored by Cairo University · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment
This study aims to examine the impact of aerobic training supported by AI-based monitoring on functional performance in university students with anemia.
Several studies in Egypt have reported a high prevalence of anemia across different age groups, with females consistently being more affected than males. Reported data show that nearly half of adolescent females (around 46-54%) and a substantial proportion of women of reproductive age (about 28-47%) are anemic. In addition, anemia affects approximately one-third of school-aged children and adolescents (around 35-36%), with even higher rates reported in some regions. Overall, these findings highlight that females and younger age groups represent the most vulnerable populations for anemia in Egypt.
Given the high prevalence of anemia in Egypt, it represents a major public health concern that should always be taken into consideration. Anemia and iron deficiency anemia have a significant negative impact on individuals' quality of life, affecting both physical and functional well-being. In many cases, they may also indicate the presence of underlying or more severe medical conditions.
Anemia can negatively affect functional ability, leading to fatigue, weakness, and reduced work performance. In addition, it may impair cognitive function, resulting in difficulties with attention and overall mental performance. These impairments may consequently contribute to poor academic performance.
Previous studies have demonstrated that aerobic exercise, when combined with pharmacological treatment, leads to significant improvements in hemoglobin levels and anemia-related symptoms compared to medication alone.
Aerobic exercise has been shown to enhance respiratory function and aerobic capacity, contributing to improved functional performance and physical endurance, which highlights its importance as a non-pharmacological intervention in health promotion (İşleyen \& Dağlıoğlu, 2020).
Evidence suggests that acute moderate-intensity aerobic exercise may improve cognitive functions, including verbal memory and inhibitory control, in young adults within academic settings, highlighting its potential role in enhancing cognitive performance.
Digital health interventions have been shown to improve patient outcomes such as balance, mobility, upper limb function, and mental health, with effectiveness comparable to traditional rehabilitation. They increase access to care, support different stages of treatment, and enhance adherence through engaging and motivating tools. Integrating these technologies with structured aerobic training may further strengthen adherence, enable performance monitoring, and improve both cognitive and functional outcomes in anemic students.
Therefore, this study is important to investigate whether aerobic exercise supported by AI-based digital cognitive training and physical activity monitoring can improve cognitive abilities and functional performance in anemic university students. The AI-supported components may improve personalization, adherence, monitoring, and safety while providing a modern digital rehabilitation approach for this population.
1,768 studies on the registry are indexed under Anemia; 244 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 60 is below the median of 96 across 1,318 interventional studies indexed under Anemia.
Browse Anemia studies →Cairo University is the lead sponsor of 4,907 studies on the registry; 1,445 are open to participants now.
Of its 37 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 5 (14%) have results posted.
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Both genders students.
Females (≥15 years) :
Males (≥15 years):
Moderate anemia: 8.0-10.9 g/dL
Exclusion Criteria:
Thirty participants will receive moderate-intensity aerobic treadmill training combined with AI-supported adaptive cognitive training using the BrainHQ application, in addition to standard care for anemia, for 12 weeks. Aerobic training will be performed three times weekly, with each 30-minute session consisting of a 5-minute warm-up, 20 minutes at 60-70% of maximum heart rate, and a 5-minute cool-down. BrainHQ cognitive training will be performed three times weekly. Google Fit will monitor daily physical activity, while weekly AI-assisted monitoring will assess adherence, fatigue, perceived exertion, and symptoms. Cognitive performance will be evaluated using the TMT application before and after the intervention.
Behavioral: Aerobic Treadmill Training · Behavioral: AI-Supported Adaptive Cognitive Training · Other: Standard Care for Anemia
Thirty participants will receive standard care for anemia for 12 weeks, including usual medical and nutritional advice and any physician-prescribed iron supplementation or medication. Participants will not receive structured aerobic treadmill training or AI-supported cognitive training. Google Fit will be used to monitor daily physical activity, while the TMT application will be used to assess cognitive performance before and after the study period.
Other: Standard Care for Anemia
Participants in the experimental group will perform supervised moderate-intensity aerobic treadmill training three times per week for 12 weeks. Each 30-minute session will include a 5-minute warm-up, 20 minutes of treadmill walking at 60-70% of maximum heart rate (HRmax = 220 - age), and a 5-minute cool-down. Treadmill speed and/or incline will be individually adjusted to maintain the target intensity. Exercise progression will be guided by heart rate, perceived exertion, fatigue, symptoms, and weekly AI-assisted monitoring, with all clinical decisions made by the supervising physical therapist.
Participants in the experimental group will receive adaptive digital cognitive training using the BrainHQ application three times weekly for 12 weeks, alongside aerobic treadmill training. The program will include computerized cognitive exercises targeting attention, processing speed, and working memory. Task difficulty and training progression will be adapted according to individual performance to provide personalized cognitive stimulation. Training adherence and tolerance will be reviewed regularly by the researcher. Cognitive performance will be assessed before and after the intervention using the Trail Making Test (TMT) mobile application.
Participants in both groups will receive standard care for anemia throughout the 12-week study period, including usual medical and nutritional advice. Any physician-prescribed iron supplementation or other medications will be documented. Standard care will be provided alongside the assigned intervention in the experimental group, while participants in the control group will receive standard care without structured aerobic training or AI-supported cognitive training.
Six-Minute Walk Distance (6MWD)
Functional exercise capacity will be assessed using the Six-Minute Walk Test (6MWT). Participants will be instructed to walk as far as possible for six minutes along a 30-meter corridor. The total distance covered will be recorded in meters. The change in walking distance from baseline to the end of the 12-week intervention will be used to evaluate functional performance. A greater walking distance indicates better functional exercise capacity.
Time frame: 12 weeks
Trail Making Test Completion Time
Cognitive performance will be assessed using the Trail Making Test (TMT) mobile application. Completion time will be recorded in seconds to evaluate visual attention, processing speed, and cognitive flexibility. A shorter completion time indicates better performance.
Time frame: 12 weeks
Trail Making Test Error Count
The number of errors made during the Trail Making Test (TMT) mobile assessment will be recorded before and after the intervention. A lower error count indicates better task performance.
Time frame: 12 weeks
Hemoglobin Concentration
Hemoglobin concentration will be measured through laboratory blood analysis before and after the 12-week intervention. Results will be expressed in grams per deciliter (g/dL) to evaluate changes in anemia status.
Time frame: 12 weeks
Serum Ferritin Concentration
Serum ferritin concentration will be measured through laboratory blood analysis before and after the intervention to assess changes in body iron stores. Results will be expressed in nanograms per milliliter (ng/mL).
Time frame: 12 weeks
Daily Step Count Measured by Google Fit
Daily step count will be monitored using the Google Fit application in both groups throughout the 12-week study period. Step count data will be recorded weekly to assess physical activity levels and identify changes in habitual activity. Results will be expressed as steps per day.
Time frame: 12 weeks
Physical Activity Duration Measured by Google Fit
Active minutes will be monitored using the Google Fit application in both groups throughout the 12-week study period. Data will be recorded weekly to evaluate the duration of daily physical activity. Results will be expressed in minutes per day.
Time frame: 12 weeks
Physical Activity Heart Points Measured by Google Fit
Google Fit Heart Points will be monitored in both groups throughout the 12-week study period as an indicator of physical activity intensity and duration. Data will be recorded weekly to evaluate physical activity patterns.
Time frame: 12 weeks
Start is estimated for Oct 2026; primary completion for Oct 2027, 12 months later.
Of 144 non-industry interventional studies with no phase under Anemia, half reached primary completion within 19 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 8 and three quarters within 35. This study's planned 12 months is below that.
Counting every sponsor, half of 153 studies reached it within 19 months; a quarter within 7 and three quarters within 32.
How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.
From the registry record's own update history. This site started tracking changes on Sep 25, 2026; for anything earlier, see the record history on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
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