Effects Of Taijiquan Exercise On Cognitive Function In The Elderly Patients With Mild Cognitive Impairment

Backgroud:Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a clinical state between normal aging and dementia and is considered as the best stage to protect neuroprotection from future progression to dementia. Tai chi, which is loved by the elderly, slow and soft and demands memory training for complex motor sequence, a coordinated pathway between attention, voluntary motor actions, postural control, verbal, and visual imagery. So it can increase the blood perfusion of brain and constantly stimulate the central nervous system. Therefore, this study will examine the effect of tai chi on the cognitive function of the elderly with MCI.Objectives:To compare the changes on global cognitive function, memory and executive function between the intervention group and the control group after the Tai Chi intervention and the differences before and after the Tai Chi intervention in the intervention group.Methods:Participants were selected from a convenience sample of 108 elders with MCI. They were recruited from the community of Hereryuan and Fangchengyuan from June to October 2015. According to the community, participants were assigned to the intervention group (IG) and the control group (CG). Participants in the control and intervention group both received health education and a handbook about the way to prevent the disease of MCI. In addition, participants in the intervention group also participated in a at least 40-minute session fourth times weekly Tai Chi training for 6 months. To evaluate the efficacy of Tai Chi on cognitive function of elderly adults with MCI, Peking Union Medical College Version of Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA-P), Auditory Verbal Learning Test (AVLT) and Trail Making Test-A (TMT-A) were assessed at baseline, at 3 month and at 6 month.Results:Of the 108 people who participated in the study,94 participants (46 from IG, 48 from CG) completed data collection 6 months. (1) After the 6-month Tai Chi training, the average score of MoCA-P changed from (24.59±0.88) to (26.63±1.64); the average score of AVLT long delayed recal changed from (2.74±1.61) to (4.50 ± 1.41); the average consuming time of TMT-A changed from (84.41±23.99) to (70.89±15.47). (2) Compared with the control group, improvements were observed in several neuropsychological function in the intervention group, including the global cognitive function, long delayed recall and executive function (P<0.01). (3) Compared with the baseline data, differences were also observed in the intervention group before and after intervention (P<0.01).Conclusions:Tai Chi, the mind-body exercise, is beneficial to improve the cognitive performance of elderly adults with MCI, especially memory and executive function. It is a worthwhile measure to be carried out in large-scale population with MCI.