Aerobics: an effective exercise to improve cognition in adults with mild cognitive impairment

Introduction Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a transitional stage between normal ageing and dementia, associated with an increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease. Research has shown a decreased risk of cognitive impairment with moderate-intensity exercise. Dance aerobics has a positive effect on cog...

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Main Authors: Preeti Gazbare, Palekar Tushar J, Shreya Medhi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Termedia Publishing House 2025-03-01
Series:Physiotherapy Quarterly
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Online Access:https://physioquart.awf.wroc.pl/Aerobics-an-effective-exercise-to-improve-cognition-in-adults-with-mild-cognitive,175677,0,2.html
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author Preeti Gazbare
Palekar Tushar J
Shreya Medhi
author_facet Preeti Gazbare
Palekar Tushar J
Shreya Medhi
author_sort Preeti Gazbare
collection DOAJ
description Introduction Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a transitional stage between normal ageing and dementia, associated with an increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease. Research has shown a decreased risk of cognitive impairment with moderate-intensity exercise. Dance aerobics has a positive effect on cognition in old age. A limited body of evidence suggests a link between aerobics and cognitive function in middle-aged adults. To test the effect of 12 weeks of dance aerobics on neurocognitive function in 40–60-year-old adults with MCI. Methods A single-blinded randomized controlled trial was conducted on fifty middle-aged individuals from the community in Pune, India, after institutional ethical approval. The participants aged 40–60 was screened for the inclusion and exclusion criteria. They were randomly allocated into group A – aerobics (intervention) and group B – routine care only (control). A structured aerobics protocol was given to group A for 12 weeks with 3 sessions/week. Neurocognitive domains like attention, memory, and executive function were assessed using a Neuropsychological Assessment Battery (NAB) at baseline and 12 weeks of intervention for both groups. Results Statistical analysis was done on 50 participants, 25 in each group, with a mean age of 49.6 ± 4.03. The intervention group showed greater improvement in NAB scores where the mean difference in the attention domain (15.5; 95% CI = 12.93 to 18.02; p < 0.0001), memory domain (7.24; 95% CI = 5.99 to 8.48; p < 0.0001), and executive function (4.7; 95% CI = 3.6 to 5.94; p < 0.0001) was significant compared to the control group. Conclusions Dance aerobics is a potent way to improve neurocognitive function in middle-aged adults with MCI.
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spelling doaj-art-0d4bf1d7ee574bc2971c5568b5a248bc2025-08-20T01:50:38ZengTermedia Publishing HousePhysiotherapy Quarterly2544-43952025-03-01331364110.5114/pq/175677175677Aerobics: an effective exercise to improve cognition in adults with mild cognitive impairmentPreeti Gazbare0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0546-2696Palekar Tushar J1https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9931-4023Shreya Medhi2Department of Neurophysiotherapy, Dr. D.Y. Patil College of Physiotherapy, Dr. D.Y. Patil Vidyapeeth, Pune, IndiaDepartment of Neurophysiotherapy, Dr. D.Y. Patil College of Physiotherapy, Dr. D.Y. Patil Vidyapeeth, Pune, IndiaDepartment of Neurophysiotherapy, Dr. D.Y. Patil College of Physiotherapy, Dr. D.Y. Patil Vidyapeeth, Pune, IndiaIntroduction Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a transitional stage between normal ageing and dementia, associated with an increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease. Research has shown a decreased risk of cognitive impairment with moderate-intensity exercise. Dance aerobics has a positive effect on cognition in old age. A limited body of evidence suggests a link between aerobics and cognitive function in middle-aged adults. To test the effect of 12 weeks of dance aerobics on neurocognitive function in 40–60-year-old adults with MCI. Methods A single-blinded randomized controlled trial was conducted on fifty middle-aged individuals from the community in Pune, India, after institutional ethical approval. The participants aged 40–60 was screened for the inclusion and exclusion criteria. They were randomly allocated into group A – aerobics (intervention) and group B – routine care only (control). A structured aerobics protocol was given to group A for 12 weeks with 3 sessions/week. Neurocognitive domains like attention, memory, and executive function were assessed using a Neuropsychological Assessment Battery (NAB) at baseline and 12 weeks of intervention for both groups. Results Statistical analysis was done on 50 participants, 25 in each group, with a mean age of 49.6 ± 4.03. The intervention group showed greater improvement in NAB scores where the mean difference in the attention domain (15.5; 95% CI = 12.93 to 18.02; p < 0.0001), memory domain (7.24; 95% CI = 5.99 to 8.48; p < 0.0001), and executive function (4.7; 95% CI = 3.6 to 5.94; p < 0.0001) was significant compared to the control group. Conclusions Dance aerobics is a potent way to improve neurocognitive function in middle-aged adults with MCI.https://physioquart.awf.wroc.pl/Aerobics-an-effective-exercise-to-improve-cognition-in-adults-with-mild-cognitive,175677,0,2.htmldance aerobicneuropsychological assessment batterymild cognitive impairment
spellingShingle Preeti Gazbare
Palekar Tushar J
Shreya Medhi
Aerobics: an effective exercise to improve cognition in adults with mild cognitive impairment
Physiotherapy Quarterly
dance aerobic
neuropsychological assessment battery
mild cognitive impairment
title Aerobics: an effective exercise to improve cognition in adults with mild cognitive impairment
title_full Aerobics: an effective exercise to improve cognition in adults with mild cognitive impairment
title_fullStr Aerobics: an effective exercise to improve cognition in adults with mild cognitive impairment
title_full_unstemmed Aerobics: an effective exercise to improve cognition in adults with mild cognitive impairment
title_short Aerobics: an effective exercise to improve cognition in adults with mild cognitive impairment
title_sort aerobics an effective exercise to improve cognition in adults with mild cognitive impairment
topic dance aerobic
neuropsychological assessment battery
mild cognitive impairment
url https://physioquart.awf.wroc.pl/Aerobics-an-effective-exercise-to-improve-cognition-in-adults-with-mild-cognitive,175677,0,2.html
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