Cognitive and physical impact of combined exercise and cognitive intervention in older adults with mild cognitive impairment: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Abstract

Emerging studies have examined the effectiveness of combined exercise and cognitive intervention (combined intervention) on the cognitive function of older adults with MCI, but the conclusions remain disputed. Our study aimed to comprehensively examine the efficacy of the combined intervention on cognitive and physical function in older adults with MCI. PubMed, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, and PsycINFO were retrieved to identify the relevant articles. Twelve eligible studies were included, and the results showed that combined intervention significantly improved global cognition SMD = 0.26, 95% CI [0.14-0.39], p<0.0001), executive function (SMD = 0.40, 95% CI [0.25-0.56], p < 0.00001), memory (SMD = 0.30, 95% CI [0.22-0.39], p <0.00001), and gait performance (SMD = 0.32, 95% CI [0.03-0.62], P = 0.03) compared to the control group. Combined intervention significantly improved executive function compared to single exercise intervention while not showing a statistically significant difference compared to single cognitive intervention. Moreover, no significant difference was observed between simultaneously and sequentially combined intervention. The finding indicated that combined intervention is efficacious in improving global cognition and selectively enhancing cognitive domains and physical function in older adults with MCI. More research with robust designs should be conducted, particularly involving comparisons with single interventions and different types of combined interventions.