Acute Exercise Improves Cognitive Function in Adults with Cognitive Impairment

A recent systematic review and meta-analysis conducted on 15 studies with 500 participants found that acute exercise significantly improves executive function in adults with cognitive impairment. The review, which included studies from inception to July 2024, found that exercise had a small effect on executive function, with a moderate level of evidence. However, the results were only significant for high-risk of bias/crossover studies. The study also noted improvements in memory, but mixed evidence for attention, information processing, and motor memory.

Key Takeaways:

• Acute exercise improves executive function in adults with cognitive impairment, with a moderate level of evidence (9 studies, 330 participants, g=0.33, small effect, 95%CI [0.07, 0.59], p=0.01, I2=26.77, 95%CI [00.00, 65.82]).
• Improvements in reaction time were noted, but were not statistically significant (very low evidence, 7 studies, 271 participants, g=0.17, small effect 95%CI [-0.20, 0.54], p=0.36, I2=50.18, 95%CI [00.00, 78.88]).
• Acute exercise improves memory in adults with cognitive impairment, but evidence for attention, information processing, and motor memory was mixed.
• The review was limited by the inclusion of studies with high/some concerns for bias and very low/low strength of evidence.
• The findings suggest that acute exercise may be a beneficial adjunctive treatment for adults with cognitive impairment.

Statistics:

• 15 studies with 500 participants were included in the review.
• 10 studies were included in the meta-analysis.
• Acute exercise had a small effect on executive function (g=0.33, small effect).
• 9 studies, 330 participants.
• Moderate level of evidence.
• p=0.01.
• I2=26.77, 95%CI [00.00, 65.82].

Sources:

• medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.10.04.24314881v1