Abstract
M.Phil. (Biokinetics)
Cognitive decline and eventually Alzheimer’s disease, is one of the biggest health concerns that the elderly face. Due to the neurodegenerative nature of Alzheimer’s disease, cortical atrophy occurs in certain areas in the brain such as the temporal, medial temporal, limbic, frontal and prefrontal cortices. This, in turn, causes deterioration in physical and cognitive functions, such as learning, memory, attention, motivation, executive function, motor function, global cognition and activities during daily living. Physical activity (PA) has been shown to play a vital role in Alzheimer’s disease, specifically with regards to physiological, physical, mental and emotional effects. However, due to the nature of Alzheimer’s disease, it is critical to investigate the effects of individual- or group-based physical activity interventions on the mental (cognitive decline and cognitive and emotional well-being) and physical (functionality and cardiovascular measures) outcomes in individuals with Alzheimer’s disease and to determine whether the effects of individual- or group-based physical activity interventions would result in comparable positive effects in the mental and physical outcomes of mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease patients. The current research study investigated and compared the effects of a group-based physical activity (GPA) intervention versus an individual-based physical activity (IPA) intervention on the physical and mental outcomes in mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease patients. Individuals with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease were randomly assigned into one of three groups, namely; GPA group, IPA group or non-exercising control group (NON). Activities of daily living (ADL’s), quality of life (QOL), cardiovascular health, anthropometry, cardiorespiratory and functional capacity were assessed pre-, mid- and post-test. The eight-week training programme interventions involved three, 45-minute, non-consecutive sessions of exercise per week and consisted of balance, resistance, aerobic and flexibility exercises, either individually or group-based. The GPA group (n = 14) displayed improvements in Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) (from pre- to post-test: p = 0.023), Berg Balance Scale (BBS) (from pre-to mid-test: p = 0.009; pre- to post-test: p = 0.006) and the Six-Minute Walk Test (6MWT) (from mid- to post-test: p = 0.008; pre- to post-test: p = 0.031). In turn, the IPA (n = 17) demonstrated improvements in MMSE (from pre- to post-test: p = 0.002), Body Mass Index (BMI) (from pre- to mid-test: p = 0.033), Body Fat Percentage (BF%) (from mid- to post-test: p = 0.045), Resting Heart Rate (RHR) (from pre- to mid-test: p = 0.007; mid- to post-test: p = 0.043), Resting Systolic Blood Pressure (RSBP) (from pre- to mid-test: p = 0.047), 6MWT (from mid- to post-test: p = 0.005; pre- to post-test: p = 0.030) and 10-second...