Effects of Dance Movement Intervention and Exercise on Elderly With Early Dementia

Abstract

Dementia is marked by progressive deteriorations in memory, spatial navigation and language functioning and disturbances in daily functioning. Non-pharmacological interventions target cognitive impairments, prognosis and psychosocial effects of dementia. Dance-movement intervention (DMT) and physical exercise have shown benefits in cognitive functioning and emotional and social support in dementia. The present study is an ongoing randomized controlled trial (RCT) that investigates the effects of DMT and exercise on physical and psychological well-being of Chinese elderly. The target sample size was 201 elderly with early dementia. Participants were randomized into three groups: (i) DMT, (ii) exercise, and (iii) waitlist-control group. The two intervention groups received an 1-hour intervention, twice a week, for 12 weeks. The participants were assessed before randomization, post-intervention (3-month), at 6-month and 12-month. Primary outcomes included neuropsychiatric symptoms, psychosocial well-being, cognitive functioning, and daily functioning. So far, 114 participants have been recruited and randomized into the three arms. The majority of them were female (76.9%) with mean age of 80.6 years old (SD = 7.1). The study is ongoing and preliminary analysis on data in 30 participants who have finished post-intervention assessment showed a positive trend in improvement in physical function and positive emotions. Depression was not improved in DMT group but the other groups deteriorated. Changes were not statistically significant due to the current small sample but trends aligned with clinical observation. Presentation will focus on the intervention model and more data will be shown.