Effects of a 12-Week Municipal Dementia Prevention Program on Cognitive/Motor Functions among the Community-Dwelling Elderly

In a rapidly aging society, like that in Japan, it is imperative to establish strategies to prevent dementia. We investigated the effects of a dementia prevention program, conducted as part of a municipality’s long-term care prevention project, on cognitive/motor functions among the community-dwelling elderly. Participants underwent a physical activity program involving muscle training and aerobic exercise, once a week, for 12 weeks. Cognitive and motor tests were performed twice, before and after the intervention. Thirty participants, aged 75.7 ̆ 6.7 years, were included in the analysis. Scores from the immediate word memory task were significantly increased (23.0 ̆ 7.8 vs. 25.7 ̆ 6.5) after the program. Scores from the Yamaguchi Kanji Symbol Substitution Test were also significantly increased (36.2 ̆ 13.1 vs. 40.1 ̆ 14.1). Time spent during the 5 m maximum walking speed test was significantly shorter after the program (3.4 ̆ 0.8 vs. 3.0 ̆ 0.7 s), whereas the daily walking distance increased significantly (1.9 ̆ 1.5 vs. 3.1 ̆ 2.2 km). Participants showed improvement in some aspects of their cognitive/motor function and walking distance per day. Therefore, this program can be regarded as a practical community-based healthcare activity.