The effectiveness of cognitive-motor training on reconstructing cognitive health components in older male adults, recovered from the COVID-19

Abstract

Objective The incidence of COVID-19 disease in the elderly can accelerate normal degenerative process of cognitive functions. Interactive cognitive-motor training (CMT) is an intervention that integrates cognitive and motor tasks to promote individuals' physical and psychological health. The present study aimed to examine the effect of CMT on reconstructing cognitive health components in older men, who have recently recovered from COVID-19. Materials and methodsThis study is a quasi-experimental repeated measure (without control group). Participants were 42 elderly men (65-80 years) who recovered from the COVID-19 disease that individually participated in a 4-week CMT program twice a week. The cognitive health components of the participants were assessed by the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-2) and the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) at 3 stages before the beginning of the intervention (baseline assessment); 2 weeks after the intervention (short-term follow-up); and 3 months after the intervention (long-term follow-up). Results The results showed that the scores of depression, anxiety, physical symptoms, and social performance components and the overall GHQ score improved significantly in short-term follow-up (P < 0.05) and also in long-term follow-up compared to baseline assessment (P < 0.05). It was also found that attention and calculation, recall, lingual skill, and action performance components and the overall score of MMSE were also improved at three stages of assessments. Other components did not differ among stages. Conclusions This study adds to the research on the effectiveness of using CMT for reconstructing cognitive health components in older adults, recovered from the COVID-19, and supports CMT as a viable intervention practice.

Risk factors and preventive interventions for post Covid-19 condition: systematic reviews

“…Interventions identified as potentially preventing post Covid-19 condition included standard medication (14, 19, 36, 41, 47, 50, 56-59), traditional/ayurvedic medication (52, 53), stem cell therapy (49), rehabilitation or similar therapies (46, 51, 54), and screening and referrals (48, 55). We grouped interventions by timing, as those implemented during acute (symptom onset to 4 weeks) phase of Covid-19 with outcomes assessed at shorter (12-16 weeks) or longer (>16 weeks) follow-up duration post Covid-19; and interventions implemented during early post-acute (4-8 weeks) phase of Covid-19 with aforementioned shorter and longer follow-up time ( Table 3 ).…”

“…We identified 3,595 records from searching databases and 186 records from other sources; 18 unique records, including 8 studies identified through the KQ1 search, met the eligibility criteria and were included (Figure 1; Tables 1 and S9) (14,19,36,41,(46)(47)(48)(49)(50)(51)(52)(53)(54)(55)(56)(57)(58)(59). Most of the studies originated from China (n=7); others were from USA (n=3), Italy (n=2), and one each from India, Iran, Belgium, Norway, Spain and Switzerland.…”

“…Interventions identified as potentially preventing post Covid-19 condition included standard medication (14,19,36,41,47,50,(56)(57)(58)(59), traditional/ayurvedic medication (52,53), stem cell therapy (49), rehabilitation or similar therapies (46,51,54), and screening and referrals (48,55). We grouped 3).…”

Men’s mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic: a scoping review

“…Of the 27 selected studies, six were published [24-28] in 2020, when the pandemic was first declared. However, in 2021, 21 studies [8][9][10][11]16,23,[29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43], 3.5 times as many, were published-and publication is still ongoing. There is still insufficient research on men's mental health in the COVID-19 era.…”

Effects of Physical Training on Functional, Clinical, Morphological, Behavioral and Psychosocial Outcomes in Post-covid-19 Infection: Covid-19 and Rehabilitation Study (Core-study): Study Protocol for a Clinical Trial

“…Of the studies that we have observed so far, all of them present interesting rehabilitation proposals, but at the same time they have important limitations. These limitations range from intervention characteristics (1-short or medium-term intervention periods, 2-only one component/trained physical quality) 58,59,60,61,62 to methodological limitations (1-patient allocation non-randomized, 2-lack of a control group, 3-absence of blinding of the evaluators, 4-absence of details regarding the monitoring of parameters that contribute to patient safety). The design of the present study stands out for the fact that it seeks to test whether the combination of physical training performed from aerobic, balance and resistance exercises, with gradual and individual progression of training loads.…”