Physical performance and cognition in older adults with and without dementia

At this moment there are more than two-hundred thousand patients with dementia and it is thought that this number will double in the coming decades. There is no cure for dementia. A preventive strategy could be physical exercise.
This thesis shows that even in older adults with advanced stages of dementia physical performance, such as balance, strength, endurance and basic activities of daily living can be improved through physical exercise. We also found that aspects of physical performance can be reliable measured in older adults with dementia. The most promising effects are obtained after interventions of three months or longer with a moderate intensity. It is thought that physical improvements precedes cognitive improvements.
We found that in cognitive healthy older adults quadriceps strength, balance, and endurance are associated with cognition and that this association is not significantly different for different cognitive domains. Moreover, this association was stronger for men. In older adults with dementia we found that walking speed and grip strength are associated with cognitive functioning. Gait speed is associated with memory and executive functions whereas grip strength is only associated with executive functions.
Future studies are necessary to investigate whether an increase in physical performance leads to an increase in cognitive performance in older adults with dementia.