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Exercise programs for people with dementia
Forbes D, Forbes SC, Blake CM, Thiessen EJ, Forbes S.. The Cochrane database of systematic reviews, 2015-04-15
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Main results Seventeen trials with 1067 participants met the inclusion criteria. Only two trials included participants living at home.Our meta-analysis revealed that there was no clear evidence of benefit from exercise on cognitive functioning. We found a benefit of exercise programs on the ability of people with dementia to perform ADLs in six trials with 289 participants. However, again we observed considerable unexplained heterogeneity (I² value 77%) in this meta-analysis, and we rated the quality of this evidence as very low. This means that there is a need for caution in interpreting these findings.In further analyses, in one trial we found that the burden experienced by informal caregivers providing care in the home may be reduced when they supervise the participation of the family member with dementia in an exercise program. Authors' conclusions There is promising evidence that exercise programs may improve the ability to perform ADLs in people with dementia, although some caution is advised in interpreting these findings. The review revealed no evidence of benefit from exercise on cognition, neuropsychiatric symptoms, or depression.
Key findings
- Main results Seventeen trials with 1067 participants met the inclusion criteria.
- Only two trials included participants living at home.Our meta-analysis revealed that there was no clear evidence of benefit from exercise on cognitive functioning.
- We found a benefit of exercise programs on the ability of people with dementia to perform ADLs in six trials with 289 participants.
- However, again we observed considerable unexplained heterogeneity (I² value 77%) in this meta-analysis, and we rated the quality of this evidence as very low.
- This means that there is a need for caution in interpreting these findings.In further analyses, in one trial we found that the burden experienced by informal caregivers providing care in the home may be reduced when they supervise the participation of the family member with dementia in an exercise program.
Why it matters
Exercise programs did not clearly improve cognitive functioning, neuropsychiatric symptoms, or depression in people with dementia. There was promising but very low quality evidence that exercise may help people with dementia perform daily activities, and one trial suggested caregiver burden may be reduced when caregivers supervise exercise.
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Study details
- Study designmeta-analysis
- Participants1,067
- Evidence strengthHigh
How this study scored 75/100
Published in a leading specialty journal, and it is a meta-analysis pooling many studies. Scored zero for effect reported because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 9 / 10 | Tier 2 — leading specialty journal (The Cochrane database of systematic reviews) |
| Journal's citation record | 3 / 4 | Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews: journal h-index 468 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 12 / 12 | A meta-analysis pooling many studies |
| 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 | 2015 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 3 / 4 | 1,067 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 | 0 / 2 | A review of other studies — randomisation is not credited here |
| Times cited | 6 / 7 | Cited 631 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 4 / 5 | 48.5 citations a year over 13 year(s) since 2015 |
| Impact for its field and year | 6 / 6 | Cited 53.5× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 3 / 6 | Cited by 15 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 3 / 4 | Cited 68 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 2 / 4 | Last-listed author Sean C. Forbes: h-index 32 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | University of Florida: institution h-index 1,303 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 2 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 4 institution(s) in 2 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 25874613) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 75 / 100 | — |
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Read the original
- DOI: 10.1002/14651858.cd006489.pub4
- PubMed: 25874613
- Original source →
- Free full text: LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas) →
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. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Forbes, D., Forbes, S. C., Blake, C. M., Thiessen, E. J., & Forbes, S. (2015). Exercise programs for people with dementia. The Cochrane database of systematic reviews. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.cd006489.pub4
Vancouver
Forbes D, Forbes SC, Blake CM, Thiessen EJ, Forbes S. Exercise programs for people with dementia. The Cochrane database of systematic reviews. 2015. doi:10.1002/14651858.cd006489.pub4. PMID: 25874613.
BibTeX
@article{forbes2015-25874613,
author = {Forbes, D. and Forbes, S. C. and Blake, C. M. and Thiessen, E. J. and Forbes, S.},
title = {{Exercise programs for people with dementia}},
journal = {The Cochrane database of systematic reviews},
year = {2015},
doi = {10.1002/14651858.cd006489.pub4},
pmid = {25874613},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.cd006489.pub4}
}
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