Effect of a 12-Week Regular Exercise Program on Cognitive Functional Change in Older Women

OBJECTIVES The present study aimed to investigate changes in cognitive function among older adults following a 12-week structured exercise program, using validated neuropsychological tests. The findings are intended to provide foundational evidence to inform the development and implementation of community-based health promotion programs for older women. METHODS This study was conducted 45 older adults. Participants were categorized into two groups according to the exercise group (n = 22) and control group (n = 23). All participants measured controlled oral word association test, trail making test, and digit span test before and 12 weeks after. The exercise group followed an exercise program of 60 minutes per session, three times a week, for 12 weeks. RESULTS For semantic and phonemic, there was no interaction between group and time. The exercise group showed a significant improvement in semantic (p < 0.05). There was a significantly different group and time on the trail making test (p < 0.05). The exercise group showed a significant improvement in the trail making test (p < 0.01). Forward and backward digit span test showed no interaction between group and time. CONCLUSIONS A 12-week regular exercise program showed significant improvements in semantic and trail making test results on the cognitive function in older adults. These results suggest that 12 weeks of regular exercise is highly effective in preventing or improving cognitive decline in older adults.