The Effect of Exercise and Cognitive Training on Community-dwelling Older Adults With Dementia.

Overview

This study aimed to explore the effects of an exercise and cognitive training intervention on the physical fitness, fall, and cognitive functions of community-dwelling older adults with dementia. The exercise and cognitive training intervention of this study promoted physical fitness, reduced chance of falling, and improved the cognitive functions of community-dwelling older adults with dementia. In addition, the score of risk of falling reduced.

Taiwan has become an aged society, and its population with dementia increases rapidly. Older adults with dementia have unfavorable balance ability and may lack muscle strength; consequently, their probability of falling is twice as high as that of healthy older adults, and their probability of falling and being hospitalized is three times that for general healthy older adults. Compared to European countries and the United States, Taiwan has limited studies on older adults with dementia regarding effects of exercise and cognitive intervention. To develop an intervention for older adults with dementia that integrates exercise and cognitive training to promote or maintain their physical fitness and cognitive function to reduce their risk of falling is critical. This study adopted a quasi-experimental study design involving single-group pretest-posttest. The research participants were 41 community older adults with mild or moderate dementia. Participants were recruited from 5 community-based dementia care centers in Taipei City. A 12-week weekly sports and cognitive training intervention was provided to the participants. The training, 2 hours each week, involved one hour of sports training and one hour of cognitive training. Physiotherapists prescribed and delivered interventions in the exercise arm. Each exercise session began with a 5-minute warm up and stretching, followed by 15-minute Aerobic exercises, 15-minute of resistance training, 10-minute of agility and balance training, and 5-minute of cooling down. Board game teachers who have more than 5 years of community teaching experience prescribed and delivered interventions in the cognitive arm. Each cognitive session uses different board games to strengthen training for different cognitive aspects. Before and after the intervention, data of the participants' functional physical fitness, their scores of the STRATIFY Falls Risk Assessment, and their scores of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment were collected as the outcome indicators. A paired t test was used to analyze the results of the intervention. This study aimed to explore the effects of an exercise and cognitive training intervention on the physical fitness, fall, and cognitive functions of community older adults with dementia.