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Title Effects of an 8-week Individualized Exercise Program on Parameters of Functional Capacity, Mobility and Cognitive Function in Elderly Persons with Dementia
Authors 홍승연(Seung-youn Hong)
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(Cover Date)
v.19 n.3(2012-06)
Keywords dementia ; physical function ; performance ; cognitive function ; multi-component exercise
Abstract Persons with dementia experience progressive loss of cognitive, physical and functional ability beyond that is accounted for by normal aging process. Functional status could be improved with exercise, but exercise interventions are rarely recommended for persons with dementia. A few have evaluated the effectiveness of individualized multicomponent intervention for elderly persons suffering from moderate severeness of dementia. The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of an individualized multi-component exercise program on functional capacity, mobility and cognitive function. Twenty-six patients with diagnosed dementia were randomly assigned to either exercise group (n=16, Mean age: 78.15±7.19, MMSE: 15.67±2.21) or control group (n=10, Mean age: 74.75±8.92, MMSE: 13.67±3.57). The exercise group attended an individualized multi-component exercise program consisting of 30 to 60 min of walking and resistance exercise per session with a frequency of 2-3 times per week for 8 weeks. Compared with the control group, the exercise group showed significant improvement in mobility and functional performance, with a significant decreases in 244cm Time to Up and Go (244 TUG) and a significant increase in Short Physical Performance Battery(SPPB) scores. No significant differences were found in changes in cognitive function, lower muscle strength, upper muscle strength, grip strength, lower and upper flexibility and balance between the treatment groups. In conclusion, the current findings suggest that an individualized multi-component exercise program can result in somewhat significant benefits for the elderly persons with dementia.