Role of physical exercise on cognitive function in healthy older adults: A systematic review of randomized clinical trials

Abstract

Cognitive impairment has a harmful effect on quality of life, is associated with functional limitations and disability in older adults. Physical activity (PA) has shown to have beneficial effects on cognition but the results and conclusions of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are less consistent. Update of knowledge was necessary to examine the effects on cognitive function of new training modalities developed in recent years, such as multicomponent exercise training. Therefore, the purpose of this review was to examine the role of multicomponent training versus aerobic or resistance training alone on cognition in healthy older adults (>65 years) without known cognitive impairment. The mean differences (MD) of the parameters from pre-intervention to post-intervention between groups were pooled using a random-effects model. Twenty-one RCTs published between 2002 and 2016 were included. Multicomponent exercise training may have the most positive effects on cognitive function in older adults. The small number of included studies and the large variability in study populations, study design, exercise protocols, adherence rates and outcome measures complicate the interpretation of the results and contribute to discrepancies within the exercise research literature.

Keywords: Cognitive functioning; Exercise training; Older adults; Physical activity; Systematic review.