Home › Research › Prevention and risk
Effects of a moderate-intensity aerobic exercise programme on the cognitive function and quality of life of community-dwelling elderly people with mild cognitive impairment: A randomised controlled trial
Song D, Yu DSF.. International journal of nursing studies, 2019-03-05
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Whether the cognitive benefits of physical exercise can improve the overall well-being of this group remains unknown. Results Participants in the intervention group had a significantly greater improvement in terms of cognitive function (β = 1.895; 95% confidential interval [CI] = 1.421, 2.368; p Conclusions This study revealed the benefits and outlined the underlying mediating mechanism of an aerobic exercise programme to the cognitive function and health-related quality of life of Chinese elderly people with mild cognitive impairment.
Key findings
- Whether the cognitive benefits of physical exercise can improve the overall well-being of this group remains unknown.
- Results Participants in the intervention group had a significantly greater improvement in terms of cognitive function (β = 1.895; 95% confidential interval [CI] = 1.421, 2.368; p < 0.001) and health-related quality of life (β= 0.605; 95% CI= 0.295, 0.914; p < 0.001) compared with the control group over the pre-test and post-test periods.
Why it matters
In this randomized controlled trial, older people with mild cognitive impairment in the aerobic exercise group had significantly greater improvement in cognitive function. It is a single trial in people with mild cognitive impairment and does not show that exercise prevents or cures Alzheimer's disease.
New to this subject? Start with our plain-English guide: Prevention →
Study details
- Study designrandomized controlled trial
- Participants120
- Evidence strengthHigh
How this study scored 66/100
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 (International journal of nursing studies) |
| Journal's citation record | 2 / 4 | International Journal of Nursing Studies: journal h-index 210 (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 | 2 / 5 | 2019 — within 10 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 2 / 4 | 120 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 | 5 / 7 | Cited 228 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 4 / 5 | 25.3 citations a year over 9 year(s) since 2019 |
| Impact for its field and year | 4 / 6 | Cited 12.5× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 1 / 6 | Cited by 2 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 3 / 4 | Cited 114 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 2 / 4 | Last-listed author Doris Sau Fung Yu: h-index 41 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | Chinese University of Hong Kong: institution h-index 1,100 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 2 institution(s) in 2 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 30901716) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 66 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
May need a subscription OpenAlex found no free copy of the full text (checked 6 Feb 1020), so the publisher may charge for it. The PubMed abstract is free.
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. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Song, D., & Yu, D. S. F. (2019). Effects of a moderate-intensity aerobic exercise programme on the cognitive function and quality of life of community-dwelling elderly people with mild cognitive impairment: A randomised controlled trial. International journal of nursing studies. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2019.02.019
Vancouver
Song D, Yu DSF. Effects of a moderate-intensity aerobic exercise programme on the cognitive function and quality of life of community-dwelling elderly people with mild cognitive impairment: A randomised controlled trial. International journal of nursing studies. 2019. doi:10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2019.02.019. PMID: 30901716.
BibTeX
@article{song2019-30901716,
author = {Song, D. and Yu, D. S. F.},
title = {{Effects of a moderate-intensity aerobic exercise programme on the cognitive function and quality of life of community-dwelling elderly people with mild cognitive impairment: A randomised controlled trial}},
journal = {International journal of nursing studies},
year = {2019},
doi = {10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2019.02.019},
pmid = {30901716},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2019.02.019}
}
Studies this one cites
Referenced by this study and also in the alzhub library, so you can read them here. Showing 12 of 16.
Later studies that cite this one
2 studies in the alzhub library list this one in their references.
Related studies in Prevention and risk
Also tagged “cognitive-function”
1,118 studies in the library carry the topic tag “cognitive-function”; these are this study's neighbours in a fixed, alphabetical-by-hash tour of them, not the closest in content. All 1,118 tagged studies.