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Does Therapeutic Exercise Support Improvement in Cognitive Function and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living in Patients with Mild Alzheimer's Disease? A Randomized Controlled Trial
Papatsimpas V, Vrouva S, Papathanasiou G, Papadopoulou M, Bouzineki C, Kanellopoulou S, Moutafi D, Bakalidou D.. Brain sciences, 2023-07-22
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
This randomized controlled trial aims to investigate the effect of 12 weeks of therapeutic exercise on cognitive function and daily activities in patients with mild Alzheimer's disease (AD). A total of 171 patients with mild AD from the Amarousion Day Care Center of the Alzheimer Society of Athens and the Athens General Hospital "G. Gennimatas" were randomly divided into three groups. Group A (aerobic and resistance exercise, n = 57), group B (resistance exercise, n = 57), and group C (control group, n = 57). Group A followed a weekly program consisting of 5 days with 30 min walking and 3 days with resistance exercises for about 45 min. Group B followed only a resistance exercise program, the same as group A. Group C did not participate in any exercise program. After the intervention, cognitive function was assessed with the Cognitive Examination-Revised (ACE-R), Trail Making Test A-B (TMT A-B), and Digit Span Test Forward and Backward (DST F-B) and daily activities with the instrumental activities of daily living scale (IADLs). A significant intervention effect was observed for all outcome measures (global cognitive function and instrumental activities of daily living). ANCOVA Bonferroni corrected post hoc tests revealed that the aerobic and resistance group improved compared to the control group on all measurement scales. The resistance group also showed an improvement compared to the control group. No significant effects were found between the aerobic and resistance group and the resistance group in any of the outcome measures.
Key findings
- A significant intervention effect was observed for all outcome measures (global cognitive function and instrumental activities of daily living).
- ANCOVA Bonferroni corrected post hoc tests revealed that the aerobic and resistance group improved compared to the control group on all measurement scales.
- The resistance group also showed an improvement compared to the control group.
- No significant effects were found between the aerobic and resistance group and the resistance group in any of the outcome measures.
Why it matters
In people with mild Alzheimer disease, 12 weeks of aerobic plus resistance exercise or resistance exercise alone improved cognitive function and daily activities compared with no exercise. There was no significant difference between the two exercise groups.
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Study details
- Study designrandomized controlled trial
- Participants57
- Evidence strengthHigh
How this study scored 58/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a randomised controlled trial. Scored zero for effect reported because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Brain sciences) |
| Journal's citation record | 1 / 4 | Brain Sciences: journal h-index 115 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 11 / 12 | A randomised 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 | 3 / 5 | 2023 — within 6 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 1 / 4 | 57 participants |
| 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 (participant count stated) |
| Randomised / blinded | 1 / 2 | Randomised (as stated in the record) |
| Times cited | 3 / 7 | Cited 21 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 2 / 5 | 4.2 citations a year over 5 year(s) since 2023 |
| Impact for its field and year | 3 / 6 | Cited 3.8× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 0 / 6 | No other study in this library cites it |
| Still being cited | 2 / 4 | Cited 21 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 1 / 4 | Last-listed author Daphne Bakalidou: h-index 13 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 0 / 3 | General Hospital of Athens G. Genimatas: institution h-index 161 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 3 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 37509042) |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Total | 58 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).
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
Papatsimpas, V., Vrouva, S., Papathanasiou, G., Papadopoulou, M., Bouzineki, C., Kanellopoulou, S., et al. (2023). Does Therapeutic Exercise Support Improvement in Cognitive Function and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living in Patients with Mild Alzheimer's Disease? A Randomized Controlled Trial. Brain sciences. https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci13071112
Vancouver
Papatsimpas V, Vrouva S, Papathanasiou G, Papadopoulou M, Bouzineki C, Kanellopoulou S, et al. Does Therapeutic Exercise Support Improvement in Cognitive Function and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living in Patients with Mild Alzheimer's Disease? A Randomized Controlled Trial. Brain sciences. 2023. doi:10.3390/brainsci13071112. PMID: 37509042.
BibTeX
@article{papatsimpas2023-37509042,
author = {Papatsimpas, V. and Vrouva, S. and Papathanasiou, G. and Papadopoulou, M. and Bouzineki, C. and Kanellopoulou, S. and Moutafi, D. and Bakalidou, D.},
title = {{Does Therapeutic Exercise Support Improvement in Cognitive Function and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living in Patients with Mild Alzheimer's Disease? A Randomized Controlled Trial}},
journal = {Brain sciences},
year = {2023},
doi = {10.3390/brainsci13071112},
pmid = {37509042},
url = {https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci13071112}
}
Studies this one cites
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