Moderate- and High-Intensity Resistance Training May Improve Cognitive Function in Elderly

August 27, 2007 — Moderate-intensity or high-intensity resistance training has a positive effect on cognitive function in elderly persons, according to a study reported in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise.
"Many researchers have emphasized the role of physical exercise in retarding or minimizing certain aspects of aging, because it diminishes risk for various chronic diseases and reduces anxiety and depression in the elderly," write Ricardo C. Cassilhas, from the Center for Psychobiology and Exercise Studies, Universidade Federal de São Paulo in Brazil, and colleagues. "Our own study, therefore, sought to assess the impact of resistance training at two different intensities (50 and 80% of 1 RM [repetition maximum]) on cognitive functions in the elderly."
In this study, 62 elderly participants were randomized to 3 groups: control (N = 23), experimental moderate (emoderate; N = 19), and experimental high (ehigh; N = 20). Physical, hemodynamic, cognitive, and mood parameters were evaluated before and after the training program.
Compared with the control group, both training groups performed better on the 1 RM test (P < .001), but their performances were not significantly different from each other.
Compared with the control group, the ehigh group gained more lean mass (P = .05) and had better scores on multiple cognitive tests. These included digit span forward (P <.001), Corsi's block-tapping task backward (P = .001), similarities (P = .03), Rey-Osterrieth complex figure immediate recall (P = .02), Toulouse-Pieron concentration test errors (P = .01), the Short Form- 36 (SF-36; general health; P = .04), and the Profile of Mood States (POMS) test (tension-anxiety, P = .04; depression-dejection, P = .03; and total mood disorder, P = .03).
Compared with the control group, the emoderate group had better cognitive performances on digit span forward (P < .001), Corsi's block-tapping task backward (P = .01), similarities (P = .02), Rey-Osterrieth complex figure immediate recall (P = .02), the SF-36 (general health, P = .005; vitality, P = .006), and the POMS test (tension-anxiety, P = .001; depression-dejection, P = .006; anger-hostility, P = .006; fatigue-inertia, P = .02; confusion-bewilderment, P = .02; and total mood disorder, P = .001).
Serum levels of insulin-like growth factor-1 were higher in the emoderate group and in the ehigh group than in the control group (P = .02 and P < .001, respectively).
"Moderate- and high-intensity resistance exercise programs had equally beneficial effects on cognitive functioning," the study authors write. "From the psychological standpoint, however, moderate intensity might be more appropriate for the elderly because it provided more significant improvements in their mood profiles and certain aspects of quality of life, in addition to the cognitive benefits."
Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2007;39:1401-1407.