Dataset Information

Physical activity to improve cognition in older adults: can physical activity programs enriched with cognitive challenges enhance the effects? A systematic review and meta-analysis.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Aging-related cognitive decline and cognitive impairment greatly impacts older adults' daily life. The worldwide ageing of the population and associated wave of dementia urgently calls for prevention strategies to reduce the risk of cognitive decline. Physical activity (PA) is known to improve cognitive function at older age through processes of neuroplasticity. Yet, emerging studies suggest that larger cognitive gains may be induced when PA interventions are combined with cognitive activity (CA). This meta-analysis evaluates these potential synergistic effects by comparing cognitive effects following combined PA?+?CA interventions to PA interventions (PA only), CA interventions (CA only) and control groups.

Methods

Pubmed, Embase, PsycInfo, CINAHL and Sportdiscus were searched for English peer-reviewed papers until April 2018. Data were extracted on cognition and factors potentially influencing the cognitive effects: mode of PA?+?CA combination (sequential or simultaneous), session frequency and duration, intervention length and study quality. Differences between older adults with and without mild cognitive impairments were also explored.

Results

Forty-one studies were included. Relative to the control group, combined PA?+?CA intervention showed significantly larger gains in cognition (g?=?0.316; 95% CI 0.188-0.443; p?ConclusionFindings of the current meta-analysis suggest that PA programs for older adults could integrate challenging cognitive exercises to improve cognitive health. Combined PA?+?CA programs should be promoted as a modality for preventing as well as treating cognitive decline in older adults. Sufficient cognitive challenge seems more important to obtain cognitive effects than high doses of intervention sessions.

SUBMITTER: Gheysen F

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6032764 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Physical activity to improve cognition in older adults: can physical activity programs enriched with cognitive challenges enhance the effects? A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Gheysen Freja F Poppe Louise L DeSmet Ann A Swinnen Stephan S Cardon Greet G De Bourdeaudhuij Ilse I Chastin Sebastien S Fias Wim W

The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity 20180704 1

<h4>Background</h4>Aging-related cognitive decline and cognitive impairment greatly impacts older adults' daily life. The worldwide ageing of the population and associated wave of dementia urgently calls for prevention strategies to reduce the risk of cognitive decline. Physical activity (PA) is known to improve cognitive function at older age through processes of neuroplasticity. Yet, emerging studies suggest that larger cognitive gains may be induced when PA interventions are combined with cog ...[more]

PMID: 29973193

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Project description:Background:The body of evidence related to the effect of physical activity monitor-based interventions has grown over the recent years. However, the effect of physical activity monitor-based interventions in older adults remains unclear and should be systematically reviewed. Objective:The objective of this systematic review was to estimate the effect of physical activity monitor-based interventions on physical activity behavior in participants aged 65 and above. Subsequently we explored the effect on body mass index, physical capacity, and health-related quality of life and finally the impact of patient- and intervention characteristics. Methods:Searches in MEDLINE, EMBASE, SPORTDiscus, CINAHL, and CENTRAL were performed on April 26, 2018. No publication date filters were applied. References of eligible studies were scrutinized and relevant journals were hand-searched. Randomized controlled trials and randomized cross-over trials investigating the effect of a physical activity monitor-based intervention on physical activity were included. Studies were included if the mean age of the participants was above 65?years, and participants could walk independently with or without walking aids. The Cochrane handbook was used as a template for extracting data and the RoB 2.0 tool was used to assess risk of bias. Random-effects meta-analysis using Hedges g, were used to pool the study results. The main outcome of this study was physical activity. Results:Twenty-one studies with 2783 participants were included. The median participant age in the studies was 70.5?years, the median percentage of male participants was 42%, and the median baseline daily step count was 5268. Physical activity monitor-based interventions had a moderate effect (SMD?=?0.54, 95% CI: 0.34 to 0.73) compared to control interventions, corresponding to an average increase of 1297 steps per day in the intervention groups. No impact of patient and intervention characteristics on the effect estimates were found. Short conclusion:Low quality of evidence was found for a moderate effect of physical activity monitor-based interventions on physical activity compared with control interventions. More studies with higher research methodology standards are required. PROSPERO registration:CRD42018083648.

Project description:Emerging evidence suggests physical activity (PA) is associated with cognitive function. To overcome limitations of self-report PA measures, this study investigated the association of accelerometer-measured PA with incident cognitive impairment and longitudinal cognition among older adults.Participants were recruited from the cohort study Reasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke in the United States. Accelerometers provided PA measures, including the percentage of total accelerometer wearing time spent in moderate-to-vigorous-intensity PA (MVPA%), light-intensity PA, and sedentary time for four to seven consecutive days at baseline. Cognitive impairment was defined by the Six-Item Screener. Letter fluency, animal fluency, word list learning, and Montreal Cognitive Assessment (orientation and recall) were conducted to assess executive function and memory.Participants (N = 6452, 69.7 ± 8.5 yr, 55.3% women, 30.5% Black) with usable accelerometer and cognition measures spent extremely limited time in MVPA (1.5% ± 1.9% of accelerometer wearing time). During an average of 3 yr of follow-up, 346 cases of incident cognitive impairment were observed. After adjustments, participants in higher MVPA% quartiles had a lower risk of cognitive impairment (i.e., quartile 2: odds ratio = 0.64, 95% confidence interval = 0.48-0.84) and better maintenance in executive function (?0.03 z-score units) and memory (?0.12 z-score units) compared with quartile 1 (P < 0.05). Stratified analyses showed the same association among White adults, but higher MVPA% was associated with better maintenance of only memory among Black adults. No significance was found for light-intensity PA or sedentary time.There was a dose-response relationship between MVPA% and cognitive function in older adults, with higher levels associated with a 36% or lower risk of cognitive impairment and better maintenance of memory and executive function over time, particularly in White adults.

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Dataset Information

Physical activity to improve cognition in older adults: can physical activity programs enriched with cognitive challenges enhance the effects? A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background

Methods

Results

Publications

Physical activity to improve cognition in older adults: can physical activity programs enriched with cognitive challenges enhance the effects? A systematic review and meta-analysis.

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