The effect of exercise combined with a cognitive-enhancement group training program on cognition and depression in the community-dwelling elderly.
Hwan-Hee Kim, Nam-Hae Jung
PMID 29545708WHAT IT FOUND
In 30 older adults, weekly group sessions combining exercise, memory tasks, music and discussion were followed by improved scores on several cognitive tests and lower depression scores.
Two memory tests did not improve, and there was no control group.
Key findings
01Several cognitive tests improved significantly after the intervention.
02Depression scores improved significantly after the intervention.
03Word List Recall and Word List Recognition did not improve significantly.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
Only 30 participants were studied, all healthy and able to walk independently, so it does not apply to people outside this healthy, independently walking group. There was only one group and no comparison group described, so it is not possible to know whether the scores would have changed without the program. The intervention combined physical exercise, memory tasks, music and group discussion, so the contribution of any single component cannot be separated. The authors state they could not control other variables because participants were community-dwelling elderly. Assessment was only one day before and one day after the last session, so there was no information about whether changes lasted. The paper does not describe random allocation, blinding or a control condition.
Declared interests
The authors reported no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that this program caused the improved scores or that one component is responsible. The study had only 30 healthy older adults, no control group, and combined physical exercise, memory tasks, music and discussion.