Dance against dementia (DiADEM): effects of a sportive dance training on cardiorespiratory and muscular fitness in seniors with mild cognitive impairment (MCI)

Current research indicates that lifestyle factors, especially physical activity, could play a key role in healthy aging and the prevention of age-related diseases like dementia and sarcopenia. Dance training in healthy older adults has been shown to be superior to repetitive physical exercise in inducing brain plasticity and overall physical fitness as it poses demands on both physical and cognitive functions. However, studies on the effects of motor-cognitive training in older adults with MCI are still lacking. A total of 51 older adults with MCI were recruited and randomly assigned to either inactive control (N=20; age = 67 +/- 6.6; female = 10) or intervention group (N=25; age = 70 +/- 5.5; female = 16). The dance intervention consisted of a six-month-long program with two dance interventions per week lasting up to 90 minutes and increasingly difficult choreographies. An extensive pre/post-assessment was performed at baseline and post-intervention including cognition, MRI, blood analysis, and spiroergometry. Here we focus on our preliminary results for muscular and cardiorespiratory fitness. Our results demonstrate that sportive dancing training can improve and/or stabilize muscular and cardiorespiratory fitness in older patients with MCI. Because cardiorespiratory fitness is a predictor of quality of life, these results could impact the autonomy and independence of patients with MCI.