Centre on Behavioral Health, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
Department of Social Work & Social Administration, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 2020 Feb 14;75(3):560-570. doi: 10.1093/geronb/gby145.
Dementia interferes with older adults' functioning in cognitive, daily, psychosocial, and neuroendocrine domains. The present study examined the psychophysiological effects of dance movement therapy (DMT) and physical exercise for older adults with dementia.
This randomized controlled trial recruited 204 older adults diagnosed with mild dementia into the DMT, exercise, or waitlist control group. Both DMT and exercise interventions had similar intensity and comprised 24 hr of intervention that spanned over 12 weeks. All participants completed self-report questionnaires on psychosocial well-being, daily functioning, neurocognitive assessments, and salivary cortisol measures at baseline and 3 follow-up measurements more than 1 year.
The DMT group showed significant decreases in depression, loneliness, and negative mood (d = 0.33-0.42, p < .05) and improved daily functioning (d = 0.40, p < .01) and diurnal cortisol slope (d = 0.30, p < .01). The effects on daily functioning and cortisol slope remained at 1-year follow-up. The exercise group of matched intensity showed no significant effects on the outcomes.
The study findings support the potential utility of DMT as a multifaceted intervention for improving various aspects of functioning in older adults with declining cognitive abilities. The lack of beneficial effects for our exercise intervention and long-term DMT effects highlights the need to maintain persistent levels of exercise with adequate intensity and duration.
痴呆症会干扰老年人在认知、日常、心理社会和神经内分泌等领域的功能。本研究探讨了舞蹈运动疗法（DMT）和体育锻炼对痴呆症老年人的心理生理影响。
这项随机对照试验招募了 204 名被诊断为轻度痴呆的老年人，将他们分为 DMT 组、运动组或候补对照组。DMT 和运动干预的强度相似，均包括 24 小时的干预，跨度为 12 周。所有参与者在基线和 3 次随访中完成了心理社会幸福感、日常功能、神经认知评估和唾液皮质醇测量的自我报告问卷，随访时间超过 1 年。
DMT 组在抑郁、孤独和负面情绪方面（d = 0.33-0.42，p <.05）显著下降，日常功能（d = 0.40，p <.01）和日间皮质醇斜率（d = 0.30，p <.01）得到改善。在 1 年随访时，这些效果仍然存在。匹配强度的运动组在这些结果上没有显示出显著的影响。
研究结果支持 DMT 作为一种多方面的干预措施，用于改善认知能力下降的老年人的各种功能。我们的运动干预没有产生有益效果以及 DMT 的长期效果突出表明，需要保持足够强度和时长的持续锻炼水平。
