Open AccessPHYSICAL EXERCISE AS STRATEGY FOR REDUCING BEHAVIORAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL SYMPTOMS IN DEMENTIA (BPSD)
Author(s) -
Susana Rodrigues,
Jamily Da Silva,
Maria de Jesus Oliveira,
Charleny De Santana,
Kaliandra Carvalho,
Breno Barbosa
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
dementia and neuropsychologia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Conference proceedings
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.54
H-Index - 21
ISSN - 1980-5764
DOI - 10.5327/1980-5764.rpda041
Subject(s) - dementia , intervention (counseling) , randomized controlled trial , scopus , medicine , medline , cognition , aerobic exercise , disease , web of science , physical therapy , physical medicine and rehabilitation , clinical psychology , psychiatry , psychology , meta analysis , political science , law
Background: Older people with dementia may experience behavioral and psychological symptoms during the course of the illness. Non-pharmacological therapies are considered strategies to manage these symptoms. Objective: to investigate whether physical exercise reduces BPSD in older people with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) and dementia. Methods: A systematic review was performed in the MEDLINE, SciELO, Web of Science, Scopus and SPORTDiscus databases from 2010 to 2020. Randomized clinical trials involving older people with MCI or dementia that evaluated BPSD as a primary or secondary outcome were included. The studies had an exercise-only group as an intervention compared to the control group. Results: Of the 175 publications identified, only 7 met the eligibility criteria; 4 studies showed positive effects in reducing BPSD, while the others did not differentiate the gains according to the type of protocol. Conclusion: Aerobic and muscle-strengthening exercises of moderate to vigorous intensity may have potential benefit in the management of BPSD, but studies vary in their conclusions. This review identified the need for further intervention studies to investigate the absolute effect of physical exercise and its impact on BPSD as a primary outcome, especially in the early stages of the disease.