Physical Exercise for Prevention of Dementia

University of Molise1,000 enrolled

Overview

The principal aim of this study is to verify whether a program of supervised, multimodal physical exercise improves cognitive function and/or reduces the rate of cognitive decline in older adults

Community-dwelling volunteers, recruited from social centers, were invited to an in-person assessment that included a medical history questionnaire and examination, anthropometric measurements, blood tests for cardiovascular risk, and several outcome measures. Participants meeting the inclusion criteria were divided in 3 groups (participants without subjective or objective cognitive impairment, with subjective memory complaints and with mild cognitive impairments) and randomly assigned (1:1) to an experimental group or a control group, using a list of random numbers generated by a statistical software. The list was kept in a sealed envelope and a researcher, not directly involved in the recruitment and in the evaluation of the participants, assigned the allocation numbers.

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

DOUBLE

Enrollment

1,000

Conditions

Memory Disorders Mild Cognitive Impairment Aging

Interventions

Intervention groupBEHAVIORAL

Supervised, multimodal physical activity including aerobic, resistance and stretching exercises

Control groupBEHAVIORAL

Usual physical activity, generally consisting in long walks and/or stretching, toning and/or balance exercises, or posture education

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 50 YearsMax age: 90 YearsHealthy volunteers:

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria: Age \> 50 years old Exclusion Criteria: * Medical conditions that compromise survival or limit physical activity * Geriatric Depression Scale-15 score of 6 or higher * Alcohol intake \> 4 units/day * Mini- Mental State Examination \< 24 * Clinical Dementia Rating score of 1 or more

Locations (1)

Center for Research and Training in Medicine of Aging (CeRMA)

Campobasso, Molise, Italy

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Change of Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) score from baseline to 48 months

Scale for grading cognitive function

Time frame: Baseline and every 6-12 months, over an intervention period of 48 months

Secondary Outcomes

Change of neuropsychological test battery from baseline to 48 months

It includes: Frontal Assessment Battery, Rey's Auditory Verbal Learning Test, Prose Memory, Stroop Color Word Interference Test, Attentive Matrices, Raven's Progressive Matrices, Trial Making Test, designs copying with and without programming models.