Table 1.
Baseline characteristics
| Intervention Group | Control Group | p | |
|---|---|---|---|
| n (%) | 29 (53.7) | 26 (47.3) | |
| Sex (male), n (%) | 14 (48.3) | 17 (65.4) | 0.278 |
| Age (y), mean (SD) | 69.2 (6.9) | 68.9 (7.2) | 0.854 |
| Caregiver living with patient, n (%) | 23 (79.3) | 18 (69.2) | 0.537 |
| PASE, median (IQR) | 76 (60–121) | 97 (55–143) | 0.458 |
| Comorbidities | |||
| Hypertension, n (%) | 13 (44.8) | 11 (42.3) | 0.850 |
| Diabetes, n (%) | 3 (10.3) | 2 (7.7) | 0.733 |
| Hypercholesterolemia, n (%) | 10 (34.5) | 8 (30.8) | 0.770 |
| Stroke, n (%) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | |
| Acute myocardial infarction, n (%) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | |
| Medicine | |||
| Hypertension medicines, n (%) | 13 (44.8) | 10 (61.5) | 0.785 |
| Depression medicines, n (%) | 6 (20.7) | 5 (19.2) | 0.893 |
| Alzheimer medicines, n (%) | 29 (100) | 23 (88.5) | 0.100 |
| Betablockers, n (%) | 2 (6.9) | 2 (7.7) | 0.910 |
| Cognitive performance | |||
| MMSE, mean (SD) | 25.1 (2.9) | 25.5 (3.3) | 0.607 |
| SDMT, mean (SD) | 35.0 (12.3) | 28.1 (14.6) | 0.074 |
| NPI, mean (SD) | 7.9 (8.1) | 9.2 (10.2) | 0.607 |
| Cardiorespiratory fitness, mean (SD) | |||
| VO2peak n = 52 (ml/kg/min)* | 21.9 (5.9) | 25.3 (6.9) | 0.068 |
| VO2peak RER≥1.05 (ml/kg/min)* | 23.4 (6.0) | 26.6 (6.6) | 0.134 |
| VO2peak absolute(ml/min)** | 1,563 (448) | 1,714 (574) | 0.297 |
| VO2peak absolute RER≥1.05, (l/min)** | 1,636 (449) | 1,821 (559) | 0.249 |
| Respiratory exchange ratio (RER) | 1.17 (0.14) | 1.15 (0.14) | 0.574 |
| Maximal heart rate (bpm) | 137 (24) | 140 (24) | 0.656 |
MMSE, Mini-Mental State Examination range from 0 (severe impairment) to 30 (no impairment); SDMT, Symbol Digit Modalities Test. Number of correct matches in 120 s are reported, with a higher score indicating a higher level of mental speed and attention; NPI, Neuropsychiatric Inventory range from 0 to 144, with higher scores indicating increased behavioral and psychological symptoms; PASE, Physical activity scale for the elderly, with higher scores indicating higher levels of habitual physical activity; VO2peak, Peak oxygen uptake measured by direct breath-by-breath cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET); RER, respiratory exchange ratio.