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Review
. 2023 Mar 21;13(3):521.
doi: 10.3390/brainsci13030521.

Preventive Strategies for Cognitive Decline and Dementia: Benefits of Aerobic Physical Activity, Especially Open-Skill Exercise

Takao Yamasaki  1   2   3
Affiliations
Review

Preventive Strategies for Cognitive Decline and Dementia: Benefits of Aerobic Physical Activity, Especially Open-Skill Exercise

Takao Yamasaki. Brain Sci. .

Abstract

As there is no curative treatment for dementia, including Alzheimer's disease (AD), it is important to establish an optimal nonpharmaceutical preventive intervention. Physical inactivity is a representative modifiable risk factor for dementia, especially for AD in later life (>65 years). As physical activity and exercise are inexpensive and easy to initiate, they may represent an effective nonpharmaceutical intervention for the maintenance of cognitive function. Several studies have reported that physical activity and exercise interventions are effective in preventing cognitive decline and dementia. This review outlines the effects of physical activity and exercise-associated interventions in older adults with and without cognitive impairment and subsequently summarizes their possible mechanisms. Furthermore, this review describes the differences between two types of physical exercise-open-skill exercise (OSE) and closed-skill exercise (CSE)-in terms of their effects on cognitive function. Aerobic physical activity and exercise interventions are particularly useful in preventing cognitive decline and dementia, with OSE exerting a stronger protective effect on cognitive functions than CSE. Therefore, the need to actively promote physical activity and exercise interventions worldwide is emphasized.

Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease; aerobic; closed-skill; cognitive decline; dementia; exercise; mild cognitive impairment; open-skill; physical activity; physical inactivity.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Possible mechanism of prevention of cognitive decline and dementia through table tennis. The figure is adapted from Yamasaki [29] (CC BY 4.0).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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