Effects of functional tasks exercise on cognitive functions of older adults with mild cognitive impairment: a randomized controlled pilot trial

Abstract

BackgroundDementia has been presenting an imminent public health challenge worldwide. Studies have shown a combination of cognitive and physical trainings may have synergistic value for improving cognitive functions. Daily functional tasks are innately cognitive demanding and involve components found in common exercise. Individuals with mild cognitive impairment may demonstrate difficulties with complex activities of daily living. Functional tasks could possibly be used as a means of combined cognitive and exercise training for improving cognitive functions. This pilot aims to validate the effects of functional tasks exercise on cognitive functions and functional status in older adults with mild cognitive impairment.MethodsA four-arm, rater-blinded randomized controlled trial. Participants (N = 59) were randomized to either a functional task exercise group, a cognitive training group, an exercise training group, or a waitlist control group for 8 weeks. All outcome measures were undertaken at baseline and post-intervention using Neurobehavioral Cognitive Status Examination, Trail Making Test A and B, Chinese Version Verbal Learning Test, Lawton Instrumental Activities of Daily Living Scale, and Zarit Burden Interview.ResultsResults of the Kruskal-Wallis one-way ANOVA showed higher improvement in the functional task exercise group with significant between-group differences in memory (p = 0.009) compared to the exercise group and cognitive training group, functional status (p = 0.005) compared to the cognitive training group and waitlist control group, and caregiver burden (p = 0.037) compared to the exercise group and cognitive training group.ConclusionThis pilot study showed that functional tasks exercise using simulated functional tasks as a means of combined cognitive and exercise program is feasible and beneficial in improving the memory and functional status of older adults with mild cognitive impairment as well as reducing the care-related burdens of their caregivers. The present findings warrant further well-designed longitudinal studies to examine the sustainability of effects and draw more definitive conclusions.Trial registrationAustralian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry, ACTRN 12616001635459. Registered on 25 November 2016.

Efficacy of cognitive remediation on activities of daily living in individuals with mild cognitive impairment or early-stage dementia: a systematic review and meta-analysis

“…Six studies implemented a CT approach [ 33 – 35 , 38 , 40 , 41 ], four studies implemented a CR approach [ 34 , 37 , 39 , 42 ], and one study implemented a CS approach [ 21 ]. Four studies used a mixed-method approach to the intervention with three studies combining CR and CT [ 22 , 36 , 41 ] and one study combining CS and CT [ 43 ].…”

“…Eight studies implemented a group-based approach [ 21 , 22 , 33 , 34 , 36 , 38 , 40 , 43 ], four studies adopting a one-to-one individual approach [ 35 , 37 , 41 , 42 ], and it was unclear which approach was adopted in the remaining study [ 39 ]. The interventions of seven studies were facilitated by an occupational therapist [ 34 , 38 , 39 ], a cognitive therapist [ 43 ], a research assistant who had graduated preparation and gerontological expertise [ 42 ], and a clinical psychologist [ 35 , 36 ]. The remaining six studies did not indicate who administered the intervention [ 21 , 22 , 33 , 37 , 40 , 41 ].…”

The Effect of a Multicomponent Dual-Task Exercise on Cortical Thickness in Older Adults with Cognitive Decline: A Randomized Controlled Trial

“…Although the present study did not comprise a multi-armed design, the strength of a multi-armed study design such as this one is the ability to distinguish the specific contribution of combined interventions from the effects of single physical exercise or cognitive groups [17]. The positive effects associated with combined physical exercise and cognitive training over single components could be attributed to the potential additive effects on neurogenesis, resulting from the initial pro-proliferative priming by the exercise component and the subsequent survival-promoting effects induced by cognitive challenges from the cognitive component [24][25][26]. However, it remains unclear whether multicomponent exercise interventions under dual-task physical exercise and cognitive training are effective at inducing changes in the cortical surface such as cortical thickness.…”

Condiciones metodológicas de los programas de entrenamiento cognitivo en adultos mayores: una revisión narrativa

“…De un total de 174 artículos leídos, fueron excluidos 159, algunos porque la metodología utilizada se centraba en el uso de terapias alternativas, por ejemplo, intervención con herramientas musicales (Bugos, 2019;MacRitchie et al, 2020), estimulación transcraneal (Antonenko et al, 2019), neurofeedback (Jiang et al, 2017;Lin et al, 2015;Meekes et al, 2019;Nan, et al, 2019) o entrenamiento de karate (Pacheco et al, 2019;Witte et al, 2016) y mindfulness (Jansen et al, 2017); otros iban dirigidos a población con un diagnóstico específico, caracterizado por un deterioro cognitivo avanzado (Law et al, 2019;Rodakwoski et al, 2019), o se utilizaron técnicas de neuroimagen para evaluar su impacto (Deng et al, 2019;Mondéjar et al, 2016).…”