Exercise Plus Cognitive Training May Aid Seniors With Mild Cognitive Impairment

WEDNESDAY, July 26, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- The combination of aerobic and resistance exercises with computerized cognitive training may improve cognition in older adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), according to a study published online July 20 in JAMA Network Open.

Manuel Montero-Odasso, M.D., Ph.D., from the Gait and Brain Lab at the Parkwood Institute in London, Ontario, Canada, and colleagues assessed whether aerobic-resistance exercises, computerized cognitive training, and vitamin D supplementation can enhance cognition among 175 older adults (aged 65 to 84 years) with MCI.

The researchers found that at six months, all active intervention arms with aerobic-resistance exercise, regardless of the addition of cognitive training or vitamin D, significantly improved the Alzheimer Disease Assessment Scale Cognitive 13 (ADAS-Cog-13) score versus control (mean difference, −1.79 points). Exercise and cognitive training significantly improved the ADAS-Cog-13 score compared with exercise alone (mean difference, −1.45 points). There was no significant improvement seen with vitamin D supplementation.

"In this clinical trial, older adults with MCI receiving aerobic-resistance exercises with sequential computerized cognitive training significantly improved cognition, although some results were inconsistent. Vitamin D supplementation had no effect," the authors write. "Our findings suggest that this multidomain intervention may improve cognition and potentially delay dementia onset in MCI."

One author disclosed ties to the pharmaceutical industry.

Abstract/Full Text