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Changes in brain volume and cognition in a randomized trial of exercise and social interaction in a community-based sample of non-demented Chinese elders
Mortimer JA, Ding D, Borenstein AR, DeCarli C, Guo Q, Wu Y, Zhao Q, Chu S.. Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD, 2012-01-01
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Physical exercise has been shown to increase brain volume and improve cognition in randomized trials of non-demented elderly. Although greater social engagement was found to reduce dementia risk in observational studies, randomized trials of social interventions have not been reported. A representative sample of 120 elderly from Shanghai, China was randomized to four groups (Tai Chi, Walking, Social Interaction, No Intervention) for 40 weeks. Two MRIs were obtained, one before the intervention period, the other after. A neuropsychological battery was administered at baseline, 20 weeks, and 40 weeks. Comparison of changes in brain volumes in intervention groups with the No Intervention group were assessed by t-tests. Time-intervention group interactions for neuropsychological measures were evaluated with repeated-measures mixed models. Compared to the No Intervention group, significant increases in brain volume were seen in the Tai Chi and Social Intervention groups (p < 0.05). Improvements also were observed in several neuropsychological measures in the Tai Chi group, including the Mattis Dementia Rating Scale score (p = 0.004), the Trailmaking Test A (p = 0.002) and B (p = 0.0002), the Auditory Verbal Learning Test (p = 0.009), and verbal fluency for animals (p = 0.01). The Social Interaction group showed improvement on some, but fewer neuropsychological indices. No differences were observed between the Walking and No Intervention groups. The findings differ from previous clinical trials in showing increases in brain volume and improvements in cognition with a largely non-aerobic exercise (Tai Chi). In addition, intellectual stimulation through social interaction was associated with increases in brain volume as well as with some cognitive improvements.
Key findings
- Compared to the No Intervention group, significant increases in brain volume were seen in the Tai Chi and Social Intervention groups (p < 0.05).
- In addition, intellectual stimulation through social interaction was associated with increases in brain volume as well as with some cognitive improvements.
Why it matters
In this 40-week trial of 120 non-demented Chinese elders, Tai Chi and social interaction groups showed increased brain volume compared with no intervention, and the Tai Chi group improved on several cognitive measures. It was a small trial in non-demented elders and did not test prevention or treatment of Alzheimer's disease.
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Study details
- Evidence strengthHigh
How this study scored 65/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a randomised controlled trial. Scored zero for sample size and effect reported because the record does not state it. We have no data on senior author's track record, so that was left out: it earned 62 of the 96 points we could judge it on, which is 65 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD) |
| Journal's citation record | 2 / 4 | Journal of Alzheimer s Disease: journal h-index 218 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 11 / 12 | A randomised controlled trial (from PubMed type “Randomized Controlled Trial”) |
| Strength of evidence | 5 / 5 | Rated “high” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2012 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (pubmed indexes it as a clinical or observational study) |
| Randomised / blinded | 1 / 2 | Randomised (as stated in the record) |
| Times cited | 5 / 7 | Cited 280 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 3 / 5 | 17.5 citations a year over 16 year(s) since 2012 |
| Impact for its field and year | 4 / 6 | Cited 9.5× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 2 / 6 | Cited by 7 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 3 / 4 | Cited 52 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | — / 4 | OpenAlex's profile for last-listed author Shugang Chu holds only 5 work(s), too few to judge a track record — left out of this score |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | University of California, Davis: institution h-index 1,257 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 2 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 4 institution(s) in 2 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 22451320) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Points | 62 / 96 | Scored on 19 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 62 of the 96 points we could judge it on is 65 out of 100. |
| Total | 65 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
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Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. The record names 8 authors; APA and Vancouver show the first six, BibTeX and the downloads carry all of them. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Mortimer, J. A., Ding, D., Borenstein, A. R., DeCarli, C., Guo, Q., Wu, Y., et al. (2012). Changes in brain volume and cognition in a randomized trial of exercise and social interaction in a community-based sample of non-demented Chinese elders. Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD. https://doi.org/10.3233/jad-2012-120079
Vancouver
Mortimer JA, Ding D, Borenstein AR, DeCarli C, Guo Q, Wu Y, et al. Changes in brain volume and cognition in a randomized trial of exercise and social interaction in a community-based sample of non-demented Chinese elders. Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD. 2012. doi:10.3233/jad-2012-120079. PMID: 22451320.
BibTeX
@article{mortimer2012-22451320,
author = {Mortimer, J. A. and Ding, D. and Borenstein, A. R. and DeCarli, C. and Guo, Q. and Wu, Y. and Zhao, Q. and Chu, S.},
title = {{Changes in brain volume and cognition in a randomized trial of exercise and social interaction in a community-based sample of non-demented Chinese elders}},
journal = {Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD},
year = {2012},
doi = {10.3233/jad-2012-120079},
pmid = {22451320},
url = {https://doi.org/10.3233/jad-2012-120079}
}
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