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ABSTRACT: Objective
To estimate the effect of a moderate to high intensity aerobic and strength exercise training programme on cognitive impairment and other outcomes in people with mild to moderate dementia.Design
Multicentre, pragmatic, investigator masked, randomised controlled trial.Setting
National Health Service primary care, community and memory services, dementia research registers, and voluntary sector providers in 15 English regions.Participants
494 people with dementia: 329 were assigned to an aerobic and strength exercise programme and 165 were assigned to usual care. Random allocation was 2:1 in favour of the exercise arm.Interventions
Usual care plus four months of supervised exercise and support for ongoing physical activity, or usual care only. Interventions were delivered in community gym facilities and NHS premises.Main outcome measures
The primary outcome was score on the Alzheimer's disease assessment scale-cognitive subscale (ADAS-cog) at 12 months. Secondary outcomes included activities of daily living, neuropsychiatric symptoms, health related quality of life, and carer quality of life and burden. Physical fitness (including the six minute walk test) was measured in the exercise arm during the intervention.Results
The average age of participants was 77 (SD 7.9) years and 301/494 (61%) were men. By 12 months the mean ADAS-cog score had increased to 25.2 (SD 12.3) in the exercise arm and 23.8 (SD 10.4) in the usual care arm (adjusted between group difference -1.4, 95% confidence interval -2.6 to -0.2, P=0.03). This indicates greater cognitive impairment in the exercise group, although the average difference is small and clinical relevance uncertain. No differences were found in secondary outcomes or preplanned subgroup analyses by dementia type (Alzheimer's disease or other), severity of cognitive impairment, sex, and mobility. Compliance with exercise was good. Over 65% of participants (214/329) attended more than three quarters of scheduled sessions. Six minute walking distance improved over six weeks (mean change 18.1 m, 95% confidence interval 11.6 m to 24.6 m).Conclusion
A moderate to high intensity aerobic and strength exercise training programme does not slow cognitive impairment in people with mild to moderate dementia. The exercise training programme improved physical fitness, but there were no noticeable improvements in other clinical outcomes.Trial registration
Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN10416500.
SUBMITTER: Lamb SE
PROVIDER: S-EPMC5953238 | biostudies-literature | 2018 May
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Lamb Sarah E SE Sheehan Bart B Atherton Nicky N Nichols Vivien V Collins Helen H Mistry Dipesh D Dosanjh Sukhdeep S Slowther Anne Marie AM Khan Iftekhar I Petrou Stavros S Lall Ranjit R
BMJ (Clinical research ed.) 20180516
<h4>Objective</h4>To estimate the effect of a moderate to high intensity aerobic and strength exercise training programme on cognitive impairment and other outcomes in people with mild to moderate dementia.<h4>Design</h4>Multicentre, pragmatic, investigator masked, randomised controlled trial.<h4>Setting</h4>National Health Service primary care, community and memory services, dementia research registers, and voluntary sector providers in 15 English regions.<h4>Participants</h4>494 people with de ...[more]