Preventive Strategies for Cognitive Decline and Dementia: Benefits of Aerobic Physical Activity, Especially Open-Skill Exercise

Abstract

As there is no curative treatment for dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease (AD), it is important to establish an optimal nonpharmaceutical preventive intervention. Physical inactivity is a representative modifiable risk factor for dementia, especially for AD in later life (>65 years). As physical activity and exercise are inexpensive and easy to initiate, they may represent an effective nonpharmaceutical intervention for the maintenance of cognitive function. Several studies have reported that physical activity and exercise interventions are effective in preventing cognitive decline and dementia. This review outlines the effects of physical activity and exercise-associated interventions in older adults with and without cognitive impairment and subsequently summarizes their possible mechanisms. Furthermore, this review describes the differences between two types of physical exercise—open-skill exercise (OSE) and closed-skill exercise (CSE)—in terms of their effects on cognitive function. Aerobic physical activity and exercise interventions are particularly useful in preventing cognitive decline and dementia, with OSE exerting a stronger protective effect on cognitive functions than CSE. Therefore, the need to actively promote physical activity and exercise interventions worldwide is emphasized.

Long-term combined “new sports” and resistance exercise improves the physical and mental health of elderly people with stroke-associated hemiplegia

“…It was reported that racquet sports improve athletic ability as well as executive capacity 48 . In particular, tennis and badminton were helpful in terms of improving and sustaining cognition in elderly individuals 49 . Furthermore, participation in a new sports activity (a bowling game) was shown to improve hand coordination during everyday activities such as using a spoon and dressing 50 .…”

Current trends in psychotherapies and psychosocial interventions for people with dementia: a scoping review of randomized controlled trials

“…Although many studies demonstrate short-term positive effects ( 15 , 17 , 51 ), maintaining cognitive improvements over extended periods remains a concern, necessitating longer follow-up studies. In addition, translating cognitive gains from interventions to real-world situations poses another challenge, requiring ecologically valid training programs ( 52 ).…”

Development and preliminary validation of the scale of factors which influence decision-making of the elderly to take part in physical exercise programs

“…The results of studies have shown that the elderly do not take part in such programs solely to maintain or improve their physical health, but also to socialize with other people of similar age (Devereux-Fitzgerald, Powell, Dewhurst & French, 2016;Pels & Kleinert, 2016;Franke, Sims-Gould, Nettlefold, Ottoni & McKay, 2021). There is also an increasing amount of evidence in support of the mental and cognitive benefits for the elderly derived from participating in programs involving regular physical exercise (Windle, 2014;Lee et al, 2015;Yamasaki, 2023).…”

“…Their benefits have been well-documented in the prevention and management of chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases (Coats et al, 2017;Tonet et al, 2018;Singam, Fine & Fleg, 2020;Ciumărnean et al, 2022;Vilela de Sousa et al, 2023), type 2 diabetes (Colberg et al, 2016;Pan et al, 2018) and some cancers (Ahn et al, 2020;Sanchez-Bayona et al, 2021;Trinh et al, 2021). Additionally, regular physical activity and exercise have been associated with improvements in emotional, psychological, and social well-being, as well as mental health, and cognitive functions (Lee et al, 2015;Langhammer et al, 2018;Yamasaki, 2023).…”