Effects of a specially designed aerobic dance routine on mild cognitive impairment

• Published in: Clinical interventions in aging Vol. 13; pp. 1691 - 1700
• Main Authors: Zhu, Yi, Wu, Han, Qi, Ming, Wang, Sheng, Zhang, Qin, Zhou, Li, Wang, Shiyan, Wang, Wei, Wu, Ting, Xiao, Ming, Yang, Siyu, Chen, Hong, Zhang, Ling, Zhang, Kathryn, Ma, Jinhui, Wang, Tong
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New Zealand Dove Medical Press Limited 01.01.2018; Taylor & Francis Ltd; Dove Medical Press
• Subjects: Activities of daily living; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Aging; Alzheimer's disease; Analysis; Angina pectoris; Blood pressure; Brain research; Care and treatment; Clinical Trial Report; Clinical trials; Cognition; Cognitive ability; Cognitive Dysfunction - diagnosis; Cognitive Dysfunction - psychology; Cognitive Dysfunction - therapy; cognitive function; Dance; Dance Therapy - methods; Dementia; Dementia - prevention & control; Electrocardiography; Exercise; Exercise - psychology; Exercise therapy; Female; Health care; Heart rate; Hospitals; Humans; Intervention; Male; Medical research; Memory; Meta-analysis; Mild Cognitive Impairment; Neuropsychological Tests; Older people; Performance evaluation; Physical fitness; Physical therapy; Public health; Single-Blind Method; Systematic review; Treatment Outcome; China; cognitive function; mild cognitive impairment; memory; dance
• ISSN: 1178-1998; 1176-9092; 1178-1998
• DOI: 10.2147/CIA.S163067

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is known as a transitional stage or phase between normal aging and dementia. In addition, it is associated with an increased risk of dementia. Research has shown that moderate-intensity exercise is associated with a decreased risk of cognitive impairment. Two recent studies demonstrated that dance interventions are associated with improved cognitive function in the elderly with MCI. We evaluated the effect of a moderate-intensity aerobic dance routine on the cognitive function in patients with MCI. This is a single-blind randomized controlled trial. Sixty MCI patients were randomized to receive either treatment (aerobic dance routine + usual care) or control (usual care only) for 3 months. All patients received usual care for an additional 3 months thereafter. The aerobic dance routine was a specially designed dance routine which involved cognitive effort for patients to memorize the complex movements. Wechsler memory scale-revised logical memory (WMS-R LM) and event-related evoked potentials (ERPs) P300 latency were used to assess patients' cognitive function at baseline, 3 months, and 6 months. Twenty-nine patients received exercise therapy and 31 patients received usual care. Patients in the treatment group showed a greater improvement in memory (difference in WMS-R LM changes over 3 months 4.6; 95% CI 2.2, 7.0; <0.001) and processing speed (difference in P300 latency changes over 6 months -20.0; 95% CI=-39.5, -0.4; <0.05) compared to control. This dance routine improves cognitive function, especially episodic memory and processing speed, in MCI patients and merits promotion in communities.