Effect of aerobic exercise on physical performance in patients with Alzheimer's disease.

INTRODUCTION

Knowledge about the feasibility and effects of exercise programs to persons with Alzheimer's disease is lacking. This study investigated the effect of aerobic exercise on physical performance in community-dwelling persons with mild Alzheimer's disease.

METHODS

The single blinded multi-center RCT (ADEX) included 200 patients, median age 71 yrs (50-89). The intervention group received supervised moderate-to-high intensity aerobic exercise 1 hour × 3/week for 16 weeks. Assessments included cardiorespiratory fitness, single-task physical performance, dual-task performance and exercise self-efficacy.

RESULTS

Significant between-group differences in change from baseline (mean [95%CI]) favored the intervention group for cardiorespiratory fitness (4.0 [2.3-5.8] ml/kg/min, P <0.0001) and exercise self-efficacy (1.7 [0.5-2.8] points, P =0.004). Furthermore, an exercise attendance of ≥66.6% resulted in significant positive effects on single-task physical performance and dual-task performance.

DISCUSSION

Aerobic exercise has the potential to improve cardiorespiratory fitness, single-task physical performance, dual-task performance and exercise self-efficacy in community-dwelling patients with mild Alzheimer's disease.