Temporal Relations and Exercise Interventions of Various Gait and Cognitive Domains in Older Adults

Temporal Relations and Exercise Interventions of Various Gait and Cognitive Domains in Older Adults

The effectiveness of conventional exercise, tai chi chuan and health education/usual physical activity over a 6-month intervention period in improving primary outcomes and secondary outcomes in older mild cognitive impairment adults will be compared. Third, whether changes in serum levels of the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-1, and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and expression of the apolipoprotein E (APOE) ε4 allele parallel changes in gait characteristics and cognitive functions after the intervention will be examined.

Inclusion Criteria:

• At least 65 years old
• Had an emergency department visit due to a fall at least 3 months prior to the baseline assessment (assuming a full recovery time from a fall to be 3 months)
• Can ambulate independently
• Has mild cognitive impairment

Exclusion Criteria:

• Do not live in a community setting
• Cannot ambulate independently and communicate with researchers
• Have a major unstable cardiopulmonary disease (e.g., ischemic chest pain, shortness of breath, recurrent syncopal episodes, orthopnea, paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnea, palpitations, or tachycardia)
• Have a contraindication to physical exercise (e.g., severe osteoarthritis or severe pulmonary hypertension)