Page 28 - Petelin, Ana. 2021. Ed. Zdravje starostnikov / Health of the Elderly. Proceedings. Koper: University of Primorska Press.
P. 28
avje starostnikov | health of the elderly 26 and conditional adaptation phenomena in the adult organism. The study
showed that a long-term physically active lifestyle leads to preservation
of performance and thus to a higher quality of life as well as autonomy in
old age. It should be emphasized that only dance training contributed to
cognitive performance enhancement.
Keywords: neuroplasticity, cognition, dance, seniors, dementia
prevention
Introduction
Demographic change, characterized by low birth rates and simultaneously ris-
ing life expectancy, has arrived in Germany long ago. “Every second person in
Germany today is older than 45 and every fifth person is older than 66” (Fed-
eral Statistical Office, 2020). In the future, a further increase in the number of
senior citizens and a decline in the working-age population can be expected.
The challenges for the health care system and the provision of care require the
development of appropriate interventions that support healthy aging combined
with a high quality of life and autonomy in old age. Physical activity and cogni-
tive training are interventions that have been shown in the past to be promis-
ing methods to positively influence age-related structural and functional brain
changes, and thus the prevalence of dementia. A combination of both meth-
ods seems to be the most effective. Sportive dance training represents such a
combination, as it combines conditional, coordinative, cognitive and emotion-
al contents (Müller et al., 2017, Rehfeld et al., 2017, Rehfeld et al., 2018).
Our aim was to investigate the influence of different physical activities
on neurostructural, molecular, neuropsychological and motor parameters in
healthy elderly people aged 60 to 85 years in the long-term course. A distinc-
tion is made between sportive dance training and fitness training (endurance
and strength training). The longitudinal study is one of the few to examine the
long-term effects of different training methods on the complex performance
structure of healthy elderly people and therefore plays an essential role in the
research focus on dementia prevention.
Methods
The longitudinal investigation is based on a randomized study design. In 2012,
study participants were randomly assigned to either an intervention group
(sportive dance training) or an active control group (fitness training). After
six months of intervention, the first posttest was conducted. After another 12
months of training, posttest 2 was performed. Finally, a last posttest was com-
pleted about 5 years after the start of the first tests. Over the course of the 5-year
longitudinal study, the sample size decreased from the original 62 subjects to
20 subjects (ten subjects per group). The measurements included neurostruc-
tural, molecular, neuropsychological and motor tests. The aim of the longitu-
dinal study was to examine the development of the above-mentioned parame-
showed that a long-term physically active lifestyle leads to preservation
of performance and thus to a higher quality of life as well as autonomy in
old age. It should be emphasized that only dance training contributed to
cognitive performance enhancement.
Keywords: neuroplasticity, cognition, dance, seniors, dementia
prevention
Introduction
Demographic change, characterized by low birth rates and simultaneously ris-
ing life expectancy, has arrived in Germany long ago. “Every second person in
Germany today is older than 45 and every fifth person is older than 66” (Fed-
eral Statistical Office, 2020). In the future, a further increase in the number of
senior citizens and a decline in the working-age population can be expected.
The challenges for the health care system and the provision of care require the
development of appropriate interventions that support healthy aging combined
with a high quality of life and autonomy in old age. Physical activity and cogni-
tive training are interventions that have been shown in the past to be promis-
ing methods to positively influence age-related structural and functional brain
changes, and thus the prevalence of dementia. A combination of both meth-
ods seems to be the most effective. Sportive dance training represents such a
combination, as it combines conditional, coordinative, cognitive and emotion-
al contents (Müller et al., 2017, Rehfeld et al., 2017, Rehfeld et al., 2018).
Our aim was to investigate the influence of different physical activities
on neurostructural, molecular, neuropsychological and motor parameters in
healthy elderly people aged 60 to 85 years in the long-term course. A distinc-
tion is made between sportive dance training and fitness training (endurance
and strength training). The longitudinal study is one of the few to examine the
long-term effects of different training methods on the complex performance
structure of healthy elderly people and therefore plays an essential role in the
research focus on dementia prevention.
Methods
The longitudinal investigation is based on a randomized study design. In 2012,
study participants were randomly assigned to either an intervention group
(sportive dance training) or an active control group (fitness training). After
six months of intervention, the first posttest was conducted. After another 12
months of training, posttest 2 was performed. Finally, a last posttest was com-
pleted about 5 years after the start of the first tests. Over the course of the 5-year
longitudinal study, the sample size decreased from the original 62 subjects to
20 subjects (ten subjects per group). The measurements included neurostruc-
tural, molecular, neuropsychological and motor tests. The aim of the longitu-
dinal study was to examine the development of the above-mentioned parame-
