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The effects of exercise training on elderly persons with cognitive impairment and dementia: a meta-analysis
Heyn P, Abreu BC, Ottenbacher KJ.. Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitation, 2004-10-01
Topic: Brain imaging, connectivity and assessment
Objective To determine by meta-analysis whether physical exercises are beneficial for people with dementia and related cognitive impairments. Data sources Published articles and nonpublished manuscripts from 1970 to 2003 were identified by using electronic and manual searches. Key search words included exercise, rehabilitation, activities of daily living, dementia, Alzheimer's disease, aged, and geriatrics. Study selection Reviewed studies were limited to randomized trials evaluating exercise in persons 65 years of age or older with cognitive impairment. Studies included quantitative results (means, standard deviations, t tests, F tests) for physical fitness, physical functioning, cognition, or behavior outcomes. Data extraction One reviewer extracted data on study characteristics and findings. Selected articles were evaluated for methodologic quality by 2 raters. Data synthesis A total of 2020 subjects participated in the 30 trials that met the inclusion criteria. Summary effects were computed using a fixed effects (Hedge's g(i)) model. Significant summary effect sizes (ES) were found for strength (ES=.75; 95% confidence interval [CI], .58-.92), physical fitness (ES=.69; 95% CI, .58-.80), functional performance (ES=.59; 95% CI, .43-.76), cognitive performance (ES=.57; 95% CI, 0.43-1.17), and behavior (ES=.54; 95% CI, .36-.72). The overall mean ES between exercise and nonexercise groups for all outcomes was .62 (95% CI, .55-.70). Conclusions Exercise training increases fitness, physical function, cognitive function, and positive behavior in people with dementia and related cognitive impairments.
Key findings
- Studies included quantitative results (means, standard deviations, t tests, F tests) for physical fitness, physical functioning, cognition, or behavior outcomes.
- Significant summary effect sizes (ES) were found for strength (ES=.75; 95% confidence interval [CI], .58-.92), physical fitness (ES=.69; 95% CI, .58-.80), functional performance (ES=.59; 95% CI, .43-.76), cognitive performance (ES=.57; 95% CI, 0.43-1.17), and behavior (ES=.54; 95% CI, .36-.72).
- The overall mean ES between exercise and nonexercise groups for all outcomes was .62 (95% CI, .55-.70).
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Study details
- Study designmeta-analysis
- Participants2,020
- Evidence strengthHigh
How this study scored 74/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a meta-analysis pooling many studies. Scored zero for effect reported because the record does not state it. We have no data on journal's citation record, times cited, citations per year, impact for its field and year, cited by studies here, still being cited, senior author's track record, institution's track record and multi-centre collaboration, so those were left out: it earned 43 of the 58 points we could judge it on, which is 74 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitation) |
| Journal's citation record | — / 4 | No journal record from OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| 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 | 2004 — older than 20 years, still counted |
| Sample size | 3 / 4 | 2,020 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 | — / 7 | No citation count (not found in OpenAlex) — left out of this score |
| Citations per year | — / 5 | No citation count or no year — left out of this score |
| Impact for its field and year | — / 6 | No field-weighted citation impact (OpenAlex has none yet) — left out of this score |
| Cited by studies here | — / 6 | Not yet checked against this library's citation graph — left out of this score |
| Still being cited | — / 4 | No yearly citation counts — left out of this score |
| Senior author's track record | — / 4 | Senior author's record not available — left out of this score |
| Institution's track record | — / 3 | No institution listed in OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Multi-centre collaboration | — / 3 | Institutions not listed — left out of this score |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 15468033) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Points | 43 / 58 | Scored on 11 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 43 of the 58 points we could judge it on is 74 out of 100. |
| Total | 74 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
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APA 7th
Heyn, P., Abreu, B. C., & Ottenbacher, K. J. (2004). The effects of exercise training on elderly persons with cognitive impairment and dementia: a meta-analysis. Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitation. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apmr.2004.03.019
Vancouver
Heyn P, Abreu BC, Ottenbacher KJ. The effects of exercise training on elderly persons with cognitive impairment and dementia: a meta-analysis. Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitation. 2004. doi:10.1016/j.apmr.2004.03.019. PMID: 15468033.
BibTeX
@article{heyn2004-15468033,
author = {Heyn, P. and Abreu, B. C. and Ottenbacher, K. J.},
title = {{The effects of exercise training on elderly persons with cognitive impairment and dementia: a meta-analysis}},
journal = {Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitation},
year = {2004},
doi = {10.1016/j.apmr.2004.03.019},
pmid = {15468033},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apmr.2004.03.019}
}