Changes in Cognitive Function in a Randomized Trial of Physical Activity: Results of the Lifestyle Interventions and Independence for Elders Pilot Study

Abstract

These results provide further support for the benefits of exercise on CF in older adults. An adequately powered clinical trial of PA involving older adults at increased risk for cognitive disability is needed to expand the indications for prescribing exercise for prevention of decline in brain function.

Healthy Brain Aging: Role of Exercise and Physical Activity

“…Recently, 2 RCTs reported an improvement of cognitive function in an elderly population. 7,8 Most of the current clinical evidence for the benefits of physical activity on the prevention of AD relies on epidemiologic studies. 9 Most of these studies investigated the relationship between physical activity and the risk of dementia or AD in particular.…”

“…These results compare favorably with the benefit reported with the use of donepezil. 67 Recently, Williamson and colleagues 7 reported the results from the cognitive substudy of the Lifestyle Interventions and Independence for Elders pilot (LIFE-P) study. In this RCT pilot study, 102 older adults at risk for mobility disability participated in a physical activity intervention for 1 year.…”

“…5 In the absence of curative treatment, physical exercise seems a reasonable basis for prevention trials. 6 Only a few large randomized controlled trials (RCTs) 7,8 have been conducted to show the benefit of physical activity on brain health. They support the benefit of physical activity on cognitive decline but none have shown that physical activity can prevent dementia.…”

The effect of exercise intervention on cognitive performance in persons at risk of, or with, dementia: A systematic review and meta-analysis

“…Table 1. A list of excluded studies [32,[41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51][52][53][54][55][56][57][58][59][60] can be also found in Suppl. Table 2.…”

Depressive symptoms and motor performance in the elderly: a population based study

“…Spearman Correlation coefficients showed that there is a weak, but significant, relationship between GDS scores and motor performance tests. It was possible to observe that the strongest relationship was found in the walk test (r=-0.32), whereas handgrip strength was the weakest (r=-0.15), suggesting that the influence of depressive symptoms affects lower limbs more severely than upper limbs, which can be explained by some reasons: (1) weakness is one of the first signs of frailness due to age 18 , and maximum force has a more pronounced decline from 40 years 19 ; thus the elderly will present naturally and initially reduced handgrip strength, and depressive symptoms will not cause major damage; (2) habits of physical activity and leisure during aging favor maintaining the appropriate motor performance and greater physical capacity 20,21 , however, it is reported that the presence of depressive symptoms contributes to the decreased activity and physical function 22 , which will directly interfere in tests that require speed, aerobic capacity and performance of the lower limbs.…”