Exercise and caregiver training improve mood and physical health in people with Alzheimer disease

Patients with Alzheimer disease are less depressed and have better physical health when they exercise and their caregiver receives behavioral management training, according to an article in the October 15th issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association.

Linda Teri, Ph.D., and her American colleagues conducted a study to determine whether a home-based exercise program for patients with Alzheimer disease plus behavioral management training for caregivers would help decrease the physical frailty and behavioral impairment that are often prevalent and can lead to increased functional disability and institutionalization of affected patients.

The study was a randomized controlled trial that included 153 community-dwelling patients meeting National Institute of Neurological and Communicative Diseases and Stroke/Alzheimer Disease and Related Disorders Association criteria for Alzheimer disease. The trial was conducted between June 1994 and April 1999.

Patient-caregiver pairs were randomly assigned to the combined exercise and caregiver training program, called Reducing Disability in Alzheimer Disease (RDAD), or to routine medical care (RMC). The combination program was conducted in the patients' homes over 3 months.

At 3 months, there were significant differences in physical activity between the 2 groups of patients. Patients in the combination group were almost 3 times more likely to exercise at least 1 hour per week, and they were more than 3 times more likely to have fewer days of restricted activity. The patients who received the combination patient/caregiver training had improved scores for physical function. In addition, the combination group had improved scores on the Cornell Depression Scale for Depression in Dementia, whereas the routine care patients had decreased scores relative to baseline.

At 2 years, the combination patients continued to have better physical function scores than the routine care patients and showed a trend toward less institutionalization due to behavioral disturbance. Among patients with higher baseline depression scores, people in the combination group improved significantly more at 3 months on the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale than the routine care patients and they maintained that improvement at 24 months.

"This study demonstrated that an integrated treatment program designed to train dementia patients and their caregivers in exercise and behavioral management techniques was successfully implemented in a community setting. Caregivers were able to learn how to encourage and supervise exercise participation, and patients participating in this program achieved increased levels of physical activity, decreased rates of depression, and improved physical health and function," the authors wrote.

"Because exercise is also associated with reduced depression in adults without dementia, targeting patients with coexisting depression and dementia might enhance treatment effects. Given these results and the consistently strong association between physical exercise and health in older adults without dementia, the potential health benefits of a simple exercise program for older adults with dementia should not be overlooked," the researchers concluded.



DOLについて - 利用規約 -  会員規約 -  著作権 - サイトポリシー - 免責条項 - お問い合わせ
Copyright 2000-2025 by HESCO International, Ltd.