Effects of Exercise Interventions on Cognitive Adaptations for Older Adults with Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Abstract

PURPOSE: Old adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) are at high risk for developing dementia. Exercise is a promising intervention for cognitive decline. This study evaluated the effects of exercise interventions on cognitive adaptation for older adults with MCI and attempted to identify which specific modality of exercise is more effective.METHODS: National Assembly library, Research information sharing service, Google scholar databases from 1 January 2010 to 31 Oct 2020 were utilized for searching articles related to research purpose. Meta-analysis was conducted with Comprehensive Meta-Analysis 2.0 using the fixed-effect model for the available data without significant heterogeneity, or the random-effect model was used if appropriate.RESULTS:Through meta-analysis in 13 studies, the combination of aerobic and resistance movements significantly improved cognitive ability and showed that intervention in a particular week and time is of paramount importance to improving cognitive function.CONCLUSIONS: The Combination of aerobic and resistance exercise led to an improvement in cognitive ability and had a positive effect with a middle effect size on cognitive function in older adults with MCI.