Ben Ayed Ines, Ammar Achraf, Boujelbane Mohamed Ali, Salem Atef, Naija Salma, Amor Sana Ben, Trabelsi Khaled, Jahrami Haitham, Chtourou Hamdi, Trabelsi Yassine, El Massioui Farid
Research Laboratory, Exercise Physiology and Physiopathology: From Integrated to Molecular "Biology, Medicine and Health", LR19ES09, Faculty of Medicine of Sousse, Sousse University, Sousse 4000, Tunisia.
Laboratory of Human and Artificial Cognition (EA 4004), Psychology UFR, University of Vincennes/Saint-Denis, 93200 Saint-Denis, France.
Diseases. 2024 Jul 10;12(7):148. doi: 10.3390/diseases12070148.
The increasing prevalence of age-related cognitive decline, alongside the aging global population, underscores the urgent need for innovative and effective preventative strategies. While the advantages of combining physical and cognitive exercises have been recognized as a promising approach to address these socioeconomic challenges, the acute effects of such interventions on cognitive functions remain understudied. This study aimed to investigate whether simultaneous physical and cognitive exercise has a greater beneficial impact on the cognitive functions of older adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) than physical exercise alone or reading activities. A total of 44 MCI patients (75% females aged between 65 and 75 years) were randomly assigned to one of three groups: aerobic exercise alone (EG group, = 15), aerobic combined with cognitive exercises (CEG group, = 15), or a reading task for controls (CG group, = 14). Attention, memory, and problem solving were assessed before and after the acute intervention using the Tower of Hanoi, Digit Span, and Stroop tasks, respectively. Statistical analysis revealed that both of the experimental interventions appeared to enhance cognitive function scores ( < 0.05), except for the number of moves in the Tower of Hanoi task, where no improvement was noted. In contrast, no significant differences in any cognitive performance measures were observed following the reading session. Notably, the CEG group exhibited a more pronounced positive impact, especially on working memory. This advantage was specifically evident in the digit span tasks, where significantly greater percentage gains were found in the CEG than in the CG ( = 0.02), while no significant difference existed between the EG and CG. Simultaneous combined exercise has proven to be a more effective method than aerobic physical exercise alone for improving cognitive function. The results of this study are recommended for inclusion in clinical practice guidelines to maintain the mental health of older adults, as simultaneous exercise seems to offer a time-efficient strategy to enhance cognitive performance in adults with MCI.
随着全球人口老龄化，与年龄相关的认知能力下降的患病率不断上升，这凸显了对创新且有效的预防策略的迫切需求。虽然身体锻炼和认知锻炼相结合的益处已被视为应对这些社会经济挑战的一种有前景的方法，但此类干预对认知功能的急性影响仍未得到充分研究。本研究旨在调查同时进行身体锻炼和认知锻炼对轻度认知障碍（MCI）老年人的认知功能是否比单独进行体育锻炼或阅读活动具有更大的有益影响。总共44名MCI患者（75%为65至75岁的女性）被随机分配到三组中的一组：单独进行有氧运动（EG组，n = 15）、有氧运动与认知锻炼相结合（CEG组，n = 15）或作为对照的阅读任务组（CG组，n = 14）。在急性干预前后，分别使用河内塔任务、数字广度任务和斯特鲁普任务评估注意力、记忆力和解决问题的能力。统计分析表明，除了河内塔任务中的移动次数未观察到改善外，两种实验性干预似乎都提高了认知功能得分（P < 0.05）。相比之下，阅读环节后在任何认知表现指标上均未观察到显著差异。值得注意的是，CEG组表现出更明显的积极影响，尤其是对工作记忆。这一优势在数字广度任务中尤为明显，CEG组的百分比增益显著高于CG组（P = 0.02），而EG组和CG组之间没有显著差异。事实证明，同时进行联合锻炼比单独进行有氧体育锻炼是一种更有效的改善认知功能的方法。本研究结果建议纳入临床实践指南，以维护老年人的心理健康，因为同时锻炼似乎提供了一种提高MCI成年人认知表现的省时策略。
