The effects of a moderate physical activity intervention on physical fitness and cognition in healthy elderly with low levels of physical activity: a randomized controlled trial

Sara A. Galle*, Jan Berend Deijen, Maarten V. Milders, Mathieu H.G. De Greef, Erik J.A. Scherder, Cornelia M. van Duijn, Madeleine L. Drent

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

17 Citations (Scopus)
64 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Background: Increasing physical activity is one of the most promising and challenging interventions to delay or prevent cognitive decline and dementia. Methods: We conducted a randomized controlled trial to assess the effects of a physical activity intervention, aimed at increasing step count, in elderly with low levels of physical activity on measures of strength, balance, aerobic capacity, and cognition. Participants were assigned to 9 months of exercise counseling or active control. Results: The intention-to-treat analyses show that the intervention, compared to control, increases the level of physical activity, but has no significant effect on physical fitness and cognition. Those who increased their physical activity with 35% or more show significant improvements in aerobic capacity, gait speed, verbal memory, executive functioning, and global cognition, compared to those who did not achieve a 35% increase. Limitations: The number of participants that achieved the intended improvement was lower than expected. Conclusion: Responder analyses suggest an improvement of physical fitness and cognition in those who achieved an increase in physical activity of at least 35%. Trial registration: The trial protocol is registered at the Dutch Trial Register NL5675, August 1, 2016.

Original languageEnglish
Article number12
JournalAlzheimer's Research and Therapy
Volume15
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 11 Jan 2023

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
The work described here is funded in the Netherlands by the Organization for the Health Research and Development (ZonMw) as part of the project Memorabel (Dementia research and innovation program—grant 733050303) and the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation program as part of the CoSTREAM project (Common mechanisms and pathways in Stroke and Alzheimer’s disease www.costream.eu , grant 667375). Additional funding is provided by the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and the Erasmus Medical Center and Erasmus University Rotterdam. The funders of the study had no role in study design, data collection, data analysis, data interpretation, or writing and submission of the report.

Publisher Copyright: © 2023, The Author(s).

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