OBJECTIVE: To determine the effectiveness of multicomponent exercise on mild cognitive impairment in older adults. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This randomized control trial was conducted at the Department of Rehabilitation at Pakistan Railway General Hospital, Rawalpindi. Fifty-eight older persons with mild cognition impairment were allocated randomly into 2 groups. The participants of the experimental group (n = 29) performed multicomponent exercises two times a week for 55 to 60 minutes. In the control group (n = 29), participants performed 20 minutes of treadmill walking thrice a week. Both groups performed these exercises for 6 weeks. Pre and post assessment was carried out at baseline and after 6 weeks of intervention for the following test: Mini-mental state examination (MMSE), Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), Trail-making test A (TMT-A) and Trail making test-B (TMT-B). Data was analyzed using SPSS 21. RESULTS: The mean age of study participants was 62.74 +/- 7.4 years. Within-group analysis for MMSE, MoCA, TMT-A, and TMT-B significantly improved (p < 0.05) in the experimental group in comparison to the control group. Between-group analysis showed that all parameters were significantly improved (p < 0.05) at post-intervention assessment. CONCLUSIONS: Multicomponent exercise training was found to be effective in the elderly with mild cognitive impairment. A combination of exercise can enhance cognitive function, help in the prevention of the decline in cognitive function, and reduce the risk for dementia.

Full text (sometimes free) may be available at these link(s):      help

• DOI
• PDF locator
• publisher