Effects of a Fall and Dementia Program on Cognitive and Physical Function in Older Adults

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To prevent physical frailty and declines in cognitive function in older adults, regular physical activity and exercise training have been considered indispensable. Little information is known, however, on what kind of exercise training can simultaneously improve both physical and cognitive function. We have developed a novel fall and dementia program called "Square-Stepping Exercise" (SSE), which can induce functional activation of the brain and has previously demonstrated a short-term (3 months) effect in older Japanese people. PURPOSE: To investigate a relatively long-term (1 year) effect of regular SSE on cognitive and physical function in community-dwelling Japanese older women. METHODS: Participants were assigned to two groups: a SSE group (n = 41, mean age 70.7 ± 3.4 years) in which participants voluntarily continued the SSE program one or two times per week for 1 year after they took part in a supervised 3-month SSE class, and a control (C) group (n = 51, mean age 72.2 ± 5.3 years) who were randomly drawn from the basic resident register. Cognitive function was evaluated by the Five Cognitive Function Test. RESULTS: In comparisons between baseline and 1-year follow-up, significant improvements were observed in the SSE group in physical function parameters such as walking ability (p < 0.001), hand dexterity (p=0.013) and reaction time (p = 0.008), while significant declines were observed in the C group in balance ability (p = 0.016), walking ability (p = 0.007) and reaction time (p = 0.0025). An increase in the cognitive function score was greater in the SSE group (+16%: 68.8 ± 16.6ø79.8 ± 17.4, p<0.001) compared with the C group (+3%: 69.2 ± 15.2ø71.0 ± 17.1, p = 0.006). CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that voluntarily participating in SSE for one year following a supervised SSE class can maintain or improve cognitive and physical function in older women.