Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of study participants
| Characteristic | Total (n = 186) | Exercise (n = 93) | Control (n = 93) | P | GDS ≥ 5 (n = 55) | GDS < 5 (n = 128) | P |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age (years) | 85.1 ± 7.1 (65–105) | 84.4 ± 6.2 (67–97) | 85.9 ± 7.8 (65–105) | 0.15 | 84.5 ± 8.2 (65–99) | 85.5 ± 6.5 (67–105) | 0.38 |
| Female sex | 141 (76) | 70 (75) | 71 (76) | 0.86 | 41 (75) | 97 (76) | 0.86 |
| Diagnoses and medical conditions | |||||||
| Dementia type | 0.86 | 0.03 | |||||
| Vascular | 77 (41) | 36 (39) | 41 (44) | 32 (58) | 44 (34) | ||
| Alzheimer | 67 (36) | 34 (37) | 33 (35) | 14 (25) | 51 (40) | ||
| Mixed Alzheimer and vascular | 15 (8) | 8 (9) | 7 (8) | 4 (7) | 11 (9) | ||
| Other | 27 (15) | 14 (16) | 12 (13) | 5 (9) | 22 (17) | ||
| Depressive disorder | 107 (58) | 53 (57) | 54 (58) | 0.88 | 51 (93) | 54 (42) | <0.001 |
| Delirium in the last week | 102 (55) | 48 (52) | 54 (58) | 0.38 | 35 (64) | 66 (52) | 0.13 |
| Previous stroke | 57 (31) | 33 (35) | 24 (26) | 0.15 | 21 (38) | 35 (27) | 0.14 |
| Diabetes mellitus | 29 (16) | 18 (19) | 11 (12) | 0.16 | 11 (20) | 18 (14) | 0.31 |
| Heart failure | 55 (30) | 24 (26) | 31 (33) | 0.26 | 19 (35) | 36 (28) | 0.39 |
| Angina pectoris | 49 (26) | 21 (23) | 28 (30) | 0.24 | 21 (38) | 28 (22) | 0.02 |
| Malignancy, current or in the last 5 years | 20 (11) | 13 (14) | 7 (8) | 0.16 | 8 (15) | 12 (9) | 0.30 |
| Constipation | 121 (65) | 60 (65) | 61 (66) | 0.88 | 43 (78) | 75 (59) | 0.01 |
| Rheumatic disease | 28 (15) | 14 (15) | 14 (15) | 1.00 | 5 (9) | 23 (18) | 0.13 |
| Regular use of drugs | |||||||
| Diuretics | 88 (47) | 41 (44) | 47 (51) | 0.38 | 26 (47) | 62 (48) | 0.89 |
| Analgesics (not ASA) | 112 (60) | 55 (59) | 57 (61) | 0.76 | 36 (65) | 73 (57) | 0.29 |
| Benzodiazepines | 40 (22) | 19 (20) | 21 (23) | 0.72 | 14 (25) | 25 (20) | 0.37 |
| Antidepressants | 102 (55) | 58 (62) | 44 (47) | 0.04 | 31 (56) | 69 (54) | 0.76 |
| Neuroleptics | 31 (17) | 11 (12) | 20 (22) | 0.08 | 13 (24) | 17 (13) | 0.08 |
| Anti‐dementia drugsa | 47 (25) | 28 (30) | 19 (20) | 0.13 | 9 (16) | 36 (28) | 0.09 |
| Number of drugs used regularly | 8.3 ± 3.8 (0–22) | 8.4 ± 4.0 (0–22) | 8.2 ± 3.7 (0–20) | 0.75 | 9.1 ± 4.1 (0–21) | 8.0 ± 3.7 (0–22) | 0.07 |
| Assessments | |||||||
| Visual impairment | 26 (14) | 10 (11) | 16 (17) | 0.20 | 8 (15) | 18 (14) | 0.93 |
| Hearing impairment | 32 (17) | 12 (13) | 20 (22) | 0.12 | 13 (24) | 17 (13) | 0.08 |
| Mini‐Mental State Examination (0–30) | 14.9 ± 3.5 (10–26) | 15.4 ± 3.4 (10–23) | 14.4 ± 3.5 (10–26) | 0.06 | 14.9 ± 3.5 (10–26) | 15.0 ± 3.5 (10–25) | 0.99 |
| Mini Nutritional Assessment (0–30) | 21.0 ± 2.7 (12.5–26) | 21.2 ± 2.7 (12.5–26.0) | 20.9 ± 2.6 (14.5–26.0) | 0.35 | 20.2 ± 2.7 (14.5–25.0) | 21.5 ± 2.5 (12.5–26.0) | <0.01 |
| Barthel ADL Index (0–20) | 10.8 ± 4.4 (2–18) | 10.7 ± 4.5 (2–17) | 11.0 ± 4.4 (2–18) | 0.66 | 10.1 ± 4.7 (2–18) | 11.3 ± 4.2 (2–18) | 0.09 |
| Berg Balance Scale (0–56) | 28.9 ± 14.5 (2–54) | 28.6 ± 14.3 (2–52) | 29.3 ± 14.7 (3–54) | 0.71 | 23.0 ± 14.8 (3–49) | 31.6 ± 13.7 (2–54) | <0.001 |
| Neuropsychiatric Inventory (0–144) | 14.8 ± 14.2 (0–82) | 15.2 ± 15.8 (0–82) | 14.4 ± 12.6 (0–42) | 0.68 | 14.3 ± 16.0 (0–82) | 14.7 ± 13.5 (0–58) | 0.84 |
| Pain when walking (n = 185) | 35 (20) | 15 (16) (n = 92) | 20 (22) | 0.37 | 14 (26) (n = 54) | 20 (16) | 0.14 |
| Self‐reported health as good, very good, or excellent | 119 (64) | 60 (65) | 59 (63) | 0.88 | 28 (51) | 90 (70) | 0.02 |
| Outcomes | |||||||
| MADRS (0–60, n = 183) | 5.7 ± 6.3 (0–31) | 5.6 ± 6.5 (0–31) (n = 92) | 5.9 ± 6.1 (0–27) (n = 91) | 0.80 | 11.6 ± 7.7 (0–31) | 3.2 ± 3.3 (0–19) | <0.001 |
| GDS (0–15, n = 183) | 3.8 ± 3.2 (0–13) | 4.0 ± 3.4 (0–13) (n = 92) | 3.6 ± 2.9 (0–13) (n = 91) | 0.37 | 7.8 ± 2.5 (5–13) | 2.0 ± 1.2 (0–4) | <0.001 |
Note
GDS, 15‐item Geriatric Depression Scale; ASA, acetylsalicylic acid; ADL, activities of daily living; MADRS, Montgomery–Åsberg Depression Rating Scale.
Data are presented as mean ± standard deviation (range) or n (%). For all assessment scales except Neuropsychiatric Inventory, MADRS, and GDS, higher scores indicate higher function. Differences between activity groups and between high and low GDS scores were analyzed using the χ 2 or independent samples t‐test.
a
Anti‐dementia drugs include acetylcholinesterase inhibitors and memantine.