Physical activity to improve cognitive resources. Systematic review of the effectiveness in nursing homes

Background. Nursing care insurance funds are supposed to deliver preventive services in nursing homes. The strengthening of cognitive resources is considered as one field of action. Aim. The preventive effectiveness of physical activity on cognitive performance in nursing home residents shall be evaluated. Methods. A systematic search was carried out in the databases MEDLINE, the Cochrane Library, EMBASE, CINAHL, PsycINFO and PEDro. Results were combined in randomeffects meta-analyses. Results. Taking into account 13 primary studies, it was shown that those participating in physical activity showed statistically significant greater cognitive performance compared to controls (SMD = 0.43, 95% CI 0.20-0.66, p = 00002). Subgroup analyses suggest that nursing home residents with different cognitive impairments might benefit from long-lasting physical activity interventions. Due to the high risk of bias in included studies, the results must be interpreted with caution. Conclusion. Physical activity might be effective in the inpatient care setting. Further studies with longer intervention periods are required.