Effect of aerobic exercise on physical performance in patients with Alzheimer's disease

Nanna Aue Sobol, Kristine Hoffmann, Kristian Steen Frederiksen, Asmus Vogel, Karsten Vestergaard, Hans Brændgaard, Hanne Gottrup, Annette Lolk, Lene Wermuth, Søren Jakobsen, Lars Laugesen, Robert Gergelyffy, Peter Høgh, Eva Bjerregaard, Volkert Siersma, Birgitte Bo Andersen, Peter Johannsen, Gunhild Waldemar, Steen Gregers Hasselbalch, Nina Beyer

77 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Knowledge about the feasibility and effects of exercise programs to persons with Alzheimer's disease is lacking. This study investigated the effect of aerobic exercise on physical performance in community-dwelling persons with mild Alzheimer's disease.

METHODS: The single blinded multi-center RCT (ADEX) included 200 patients, median age 71 yrs (50-89). The intervention group received supervised moderate-to-high intensity aerobic exercise 1 hour × 3/week for 16 weeks. Assessments included cardiorespiratory fitness, single-task physical performance, dual-task performance and exercise self-efficacy.

RESULTS: Significant between-group differences in change from baseline (mean [95%CI]) favored the intervention group for cardiorespiratory fitness (4.0 [2.3-5.8] ml/kg/min, P <0.0001) and exercise self-efficacy (1.7 [0.5-2.8] points, P =0.004). Furthermore, an exercise attendance of ≥66.6% resulted in significant positive effects on single-task physical performance and dual-task performance.

DISCUSSION: Aerobic exercise has the potential to improve cardiorespiratory fitness, single-task physical performance, dual-task performance and exercise self-efficacy in community-dwelling patients with mild Alzheimer's disease.

Original languageEnglish
JournalAlzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association
Volume12
Issue number12
Pages (from-to)1207-1215
Number of pages9
ISSN1552-5260
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Dec 2016

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