Impact of physical activity on cognitive function of older adults with mild cognitive impairment

Abstract

Aging is associated with changes that can affect cognitive functions. Mild cognitive impairment is recognized as an intermediate state between normal aging and dementia. The latter is a multifactorial condition related to metabolic, vascular, neurological, and inflammatory factors, such as hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia, obesity, or Parkinson’s disease. Its progression compromises autonomy, increases care costs, and generates a significant burden for the family and the health system, which requires preventive strategies. A search was performed in PubMed, Hinari, Scielo, Google Scholar, and EBSCO, using Boolean operators and keywords such as “cognitive dysfunction”, "cognition", “physical exercise”, and “aging”. We included literature review articles, systematic reviews with meta-analysis, and case-control studies, published in English, Spanish, and Portuguese between 2020 and 2024. The objective of this review was to identify the influence of physical exercise on cognition in older adults with mild cognitive impairment. The findings show that physical exercise constitutes a promising non-pharmacological alternative, with heterogeneous effects on different cognitive functions. Although improvement is reported in certain domains, there is still a need for comparative studies that integrate comorbidities and other interventions to establish more solid conclusion