Activity ups seniors' cognitive abilities somewhat

03 sept 2008--Participation in an at-home physical activity program can modestly improve cognition in older adults with memory problems, but who do not have dementia, new research shows.
Previous studies have suggested that physical activity can reduce the odds of mental decline in older adults, the researchers note in this week's issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, but confirmation from clinical trials has been lacking.
For their study, Dr. Nicola T. Lautenschlager of the University of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia, and colleagues randomly allocated 170 subjects, 50 years of age or older, to a physical activity program or to a comparison "control" group that received usual care.
Participants in the activity program were encouraged to perform moderate-intensity physical activity for at least 50 minutes three times a week. A total of 138 subjects completed an assessment after18-month.
On average, patients in the exercise group performed 142 minutes more physical activity per week than did the controls.
At the 6-month mark, the average score on a standard cognitive test increased by 0.26 points in the activity group, whereas it fell by 1.04 points in the control group. At 18 months, improvements of 0.73 points and 0.04 points were noted in the physical activity and control group, respectively.
"To our knowledge, this trial is the first to demonstrate that exercise improves cognitive function in older adults with subjective and objective mild cognitive impairment," the researchers conclude. Although the improvements were small, they are "potentially important when one considers the relatively modest amount of physical activity undertaken by participants in the study."
SOURCE: Journal of the American Medical Association, September 3, 2008.