P3‐005: Effects of Aerobic, Resistance, or Combined Training on Cognitive Function in Older Adults: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Although physical exercise is thought to prevent cognitive decline in older people, the comparative efficacy of different exercise modalities is unclear. In the “TOyota Prevention Intervention for Cognitive decline and Sarcopenia (TOPICS)”, we used a RCT design to investigate differential effects of exercise modalities on cognitive function among community-dwelling older adults in Japan. A total of 415 subjects aged 65–85 years with subjective cognitive impairment and who met other inclusion and exclusion criteria were randomly assigned to one of the following 6-month, twice-per-week programs: (1) aerobic training (AT), (2) resistance training (RT), (3) combined training (CT), or the control group. We assessed cognitive function via a neuropsychological test battery focusing on the cognitive domains of memory, attention, working memory, verbal fluency, processing speed, and executive function. The study spans two phases: 26-week intervention and 26-week follow-up period. Our primary outcome was memory function (the Logical Memory II delayed recall scores). We used a repeated-measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) to evaluate the effect of the interventions. The repeated-measures ANOVA revealed a main effect of time, and indicated an improvement in Logical Memory II performance compared with baseline after the intervention. However, we did not find any significant interactions for group × time with respect to Logical Memory II score. A sub-analysis of participants by the amnesia status defined by the Japanese-ADNI criteria showed that among those without amnesia (n=225) there was a significant group × time interaction for Logical Memory II score (F(3, 221)=3.58, p=.015): Specifically, Logical Memory II score significantly improved in the AT group compared to the control group. In those with amnesia (n=153), we observed no significant group interactions with Logical Memory II score. Aerobic exercise interventions may improve memory function among community-dwelling older adults without amnesia.