The Effects of Three Months of Aerobic Dance on Hippocampal Volume and Cognition in Elderly People with Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract Whether dancing could increases the hippocampal volume of seniors with amnestic mild cognitive impairment(aMCI) remains debatable. The aim of the present study was to investigate the influence of aerobic dance on hippocampal volume and cognition after three months' aerobic dance in older adults with aMCI. In this randomized controlled trial, 68 elderly people with aMCI were randomized to either aerobic dance group or the control group using 1:1 allocation ratio. Specially designed aerobic dance routine was performed by the dance group three times a week for three months, while all participants received monthly health care education after inclusion. MRI with a 3.0 T MRI scanner and cognitive assessments were performed before and after intervention. The high-resolution 3D T1-weighted anatomical images were acquired for the analysis of hippocampal volume. A total of 35 participants (mean age: 71.51 ± 6.62 years) were randomized into aerobic dance group and 33(mean age:69.82 ± 7.74 years ) into control group, and all the data was analyzed based on the intention to treat (ITT) method. Patients in the treatment group showed increased volume in the right hippocampus (mean difference [MD] in right hippocampus volume over 3 months 0.13; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.05, 0.21; p<0.001) and memory enhancement (MD in Memory Scale-Revised Logical Memory change over 3 months 2.12; 95% CI -0.06, 4.13; p = 0.02) compared to the control group. In conclusion, three months of aerobic dance could increase the volume of right hippocampus and improve episodic memory in elderly persons with aMCI. This study was registered on the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (www.chictr.org.cn). Registration number：ChiCTR-INR-15007420.