Table 2.
Summary of systematic reviews and meta-analyses exploring the association of physical activity with cognitive decline and/or incident dementia.
| First Author of the Review | Year | Type of Review | Total Sample Size | Physical Activity/Exercise Description (Type, Frequency, Duration, Intensity) Intervention |
Summary of Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adamson [367] | 2015 | MA | 1324 | Physical activity mixed. Mean frequency 3 times per week; Mean duration 40 min | Physical exercise, particularly when meeting physical activity guidelines, can improve depressive symptoms in adults with neurologic disorders, with a less evident effect in dementia. |
| Almeida [368] | 2019 | MA | 1129 | Home-based physical activity. No details regarding mean frequency, duration, or intensity | Home-based physical activity seems safe and effective in delaying cognitive function decline and improving changes in behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia, activities of daily living, health-related physical fitness, and carer’s burden in people with dementia living at home. |
| Barreto [369] | 2015 | MA | 1627 | Physical activity mixed. Mean frequency 3.38 times per week; Mean duration 38 min | Physical exercise reduces depression levels in dementia. |
| Brown [370] | 2019 | MA | 524 | Home based physical activity. No details regarding mean frequency, duration, or intensity | The effectiveness of home-based exercise programs on mobility in community-dwelling people with Alzheimer’s disease remains inconclusive. |
| Burge [371] | 2012 | MA | 278 | Physical activity mixed. Mean frequency 2.8 times per week; Mean duration 36.6 min | Physical exercise may limit the negative effects of dementia in activities of daily living. |
| Burton [372] | 2015 | MA | 336 | Physical activity mixed. No details regarding mean frequency, duration, or intensity | Exercise program may potentially assist in preventing falls of older people with dementia living in the community. |
| Cammisuli [373] | 2017 | MA | 768 | Aerobic exercise. Mean frequency 2.55 times per week; Mean duration 57 min | Aerobic exercise improves cognition in MCI patients. Overall research reported moderate effects for global cognition, logical memory, inhibitory control, and divided attention. |
| Cammisulli [374] | 2018 | MA | 554 | Aerobic exercise. Mean frequency 2.57 times per week; Mean duration 46.25 min | There is scarce evidence that aerobic exercise improves cognition in AD patients. |
| Fleiner [375] | 2017 | MA | 201 | Physical activity mixed. Mean frequency 3 times per week; Mean duration 56 min | Exercise represents a potentially worthwhile approach for the treatment of patients suffering from BPSD. |
| Gates [376] | 2013 | MA | 1695 | Physical activity mixed. Mean frequency 3 times per week; Mean duration 40 min | Limited evidence that exercise improves cognitive function in individuals with MCI. |
| Groot [377] | 2016 | MA | 802 | Physical activity mixed; Mean duration 146 min | Physical activity interventions positively influence cognitive function in patients with dementia. |
| Jia [378] | 2019 | MA | 673 | Physical activity mixed; Mean frequency 1.8 times per week; Mean duration 40 min | Physical activity and exercise can improve cognition of older adults with AD. |
| Leng [379] | 2018 | MA | 2289 | Physical activity mixed. No details regarding mean frequency, duration, or intensity | Physical exercise significantly ameliorated depressive symptoms and BPSD. |
| Lewis [380] | 2017 | MA | 945 | Home-based physical activity. No details regarding mean frequency, duration, or intensity | Long-term home and community-based exercise programs improve function in older adults living in the community with cognitive impairment. |
| Li [381] | 2019 | MA | 2051 | Physical activity mixed. No details regarding mean frequency, duration, or intensity | Physical exercise programs might play an important role in cognition and ADL in patients with dementia. |
| Lim [382] | 2019 | MA | 325 | Tai Chi. Mean frequency 3 times per week; Mean duration 46 min | Tai Chi may improve short-term cognitive function in older people at the onset of dementia. |
| Ojagbemi [383] | 2019 | MA | 765 | Physical activity mixed. Mean frequency 1 times per week; Mean duration 130 min | Physical exercise interventions led to small and non-significant improvement in quality of life in older people affected by dementia. |
| Packer [384] | 2019 | MA | 3380 | Physical activity mixed. Mean frequency 1.66 times per week; Mean duration 120 min | No clear benefit or harm associated with any of interventions on risks of hospitalization, duration of hospitalization, or death. |
| Pisani [385] | 2021 | MA | 1793 | Physical activity mixed | The effect size for physical exercise was generally comparable to donepezil. |
| Song [386] | 2018 | MA | 929 | Physical activity mixed. Mean frequency 2.45 times per week; Mean duration 54.5 min | Physical exercise, aerobic exercise in particular, benefits global cognition in MCI patients. |
| Wang [387] | 2019 | MA | 1088 | Resistance training; Mean frequency 2.5 times per week; Mean duration 63 min | High-intensity and frequent resistance exercises may be the most effective exercise type to improve global cognition in adults with mild cognitive impairment. |
| Zheng [388] | 2016 | MA | 1587 | Aerobic exercise. Mean frequency 2.28 times per week; Mean duration 53 min | Aerobic exercise led to an improvement in global cognitive ability and had a positive effect with a small effect size on memory in people with MCI. |
| Zou [389] | 2019 | MA | 940 | Mind body exercises. Mean frequency 3.8 times per week; Mean duration 60 min | Mind–body exercise may have the potential to improve various cognitive functions in people with MCI. |
| Blankevoort [390] | 2010 | SR | 642 | Physical activity mixed. No details regarding mean frequency, duration, or intensity | Multi-component interventions can improve physical functioning and ADL in elderly subjects regardless of the stage of dementia. The best results were obtained in the interventions with the largest training volume. |
| Brett [391] | 2016 | SR | 901 | Physical activity mixed. No details regarding mean frequency, duration, or intensity | Significant effect of physical activity on functional ability, particularly on mobility items. |
| Guitar [392] | 2018 | SR | 259 | Physical activity mixed. Mean frequency 2.5 times per week; Mean duration 129 min | Significant improvement was seen on executive function in older people affected by AD. |
| Learner [393] | 2016 | SR | 423 | Physical activity mixed. Mean frequency 3,4 times per week; Mean duration 37.5 min | There is moderate-to-strong evidence that physical activity can effectively maintain cognitive function in nursing home residents with dementia. |
| Demurtas [354] | 2020 | UR | 28,205 | Mixed | Supported by very low-to-moderate certainty of evidence, physical activity/exercise has a positive effect on several cognitive and non-cognitive outcomes in people with MCI and dementia. |
AD: Alzheimer’s disease; BPSD: behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia; MA: meta-analysis; MCI: mild cognitive impairment; SR: systematic review; UR: umbrella review.