The effectiveness of aerobic exercise and dance interventions on cognitive function in adults with mild cognitive impairment: an overview of meta-analyses

This review summarizes meta-analyses (MAs) of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that assessed the effectiveness of aerobic exercise and dance interventions on cognitive functions in adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Five databases, MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, PubMed, and CENTRAL, were searched. MAs that exclusively pooled the effect sizes of aerobic exercise or dance on cognitive functions in adults aged 50 and above with MCI were included. We summarized 20 MAs, including 59 unique RCTs on aerobic exercise and 12 unique RCTs on dance. The meta-meta-analysis results demonstrated that both aerobic exercise (SMD = 0.28 [.13, .43]) and dance (SMD = 0.39 [.28, .49]) significantly improve overall cognition in adults with MCI. When considering specific cognitive domains, aerobic exercise significantly improves global cognition (SMD = 0.42 [.21, .64]) but does not significantly impact executive function and memory. Dance significantly enhances global cognition (SMD = 0.4 [.01, .09]), executive function (SMD = 0.18 [.03, .32]), and memory (SMD = 0.46 [.32, .61]). The moderator analysis also supported dance's superior effect on memory. This finding suggests that the cognitively demanding nature of dance, which involves memorizing complex choreography and coordinating movements with accompanying music, provides additional benefits for memory. Overall, the current review supports that aerobic exercise and dance are effective non-pharmacological interventions to stabilize and even improve cognitive functions in adults with MCI.