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Practice Guideline
. 2023 Oct;14(5):925-952.
doi: 10.1007/s41999-023-00858-y. Epub 2023 Sep 28.

Physical activity and exercise for the prevention and management of mild cognitive impairment and dementia: a collaborative international guideline

Nicola Veronese  1 , Pinar Soysal  2 , Jacopo Demurtas  3 , Marco Solmi  4   5   6 , Olivier Bruyère  7 , Nikos Christodoulou  8   9 , Rodrigo Ramalho  10 , Paolo Fusar-Poli  11   12 , Andreas S Lappas  13   14 , Daniel Pinto  15 , Kristian Steen Frederiksen  16 , Grazia Maria Corbi  17 , Olga Karpenko  18 , Jean Georges  19 , João Durães  20   21 , Mathias Schlögl  22 , Ozlem Yilmaz  23 , Cornel Sieber  24   25 , Susan D Shenkin  26 , Lee Smith  27 , Jean-Yves Reginster  28 , Stefania Maggi  29 , Federica Limongi  29 , Joan Ars  30   31 , Mario Barbagallo  32 , Antonio Cherubini #  33 , Terry Quinn #  34   35 ; Alzheimer Europe; European College of Neuropsychopharmacology; European Geriatric Medicine Society (Lead Society); European Interdisciplinary Council on Ageing; European Society of Clinical and Economic Aspects of Osteoporosis and Osteoarthritis; International Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics-European Region; Scottish Brain Health ARC; World Psychiatry Association-Preventive Psychiatry Section; endorsed by the European Academy of Neurology
Collaborators, Affiliations
Practice Guideline

Physical activity and exercise for the prevention and management of mild cognitive impairment and dementia: a collaborative international guideline

Nicola Veronese et al. Eur Geriatr Med. 2023 Oct.

Abstract

Background: Physical activity and exercise have been suggested as effective interventions for the prevention and management of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia, but there are no international guidelines.

Objectives: To create a set of evidence- and expert consensus-based prevention and management recommendations regarding physical activity (any bodily movement produced by skeletal muscles that results in energy expenditure) and exercise (a subset of physical activity that is planned, structured, repetitive), applicable to a range of individuals from healthy older adults to those with MCI/dementia.

Methods: Guideline content was developed with input from several scientific and lay representatives' societies. A systematic search across multidisciplinary databases was carried out until October 2021. Recommendations for prevention and management were developed according to the GRADE and complemented by consensus statements from the expert panels.

Recommendations: Physical activity may be considered for the primary prevention of dementia. In people with MCI there is continued uncertainty about the role of physical activity in slowing the conversion to dementia. Mind-body interventions have the greatest supporting evidence. In people with moderate dementia, exercise may be used for maintaining disability and cognition. All these recommendations were based on a very low/low certainty of evidence.

Conclusions: Although the scientific evidence on the beneficial role of physical activity and exercise in preserving cognitive functions in subjects with normal cognition, MCI or dementia is inconclusive, this panel, composed of scientific societies and other stakeholders, recommends their implementation based on their beneficial effects on almost all facets of health.

Keywords: Cognition; Dementia; Exercise; Guidelines; Mild cognitive impairment; Older adult; Physical activity.

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Conflict of interest statement

Marco Solmi has received honoraria/has been a consultant for Angelini, Lundbeck, Otsuka, Abbvie, unrelated to this work. The other authors did not declare any potential conflicts of interest for this work.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Infographic regarding the effect of physical activity and exercise in people without cognitive impairment, in mild cognitive impairment and in dementia. Created with Biorender.com and vecteezy.com
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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