AN ANALYSIS OF THE EFFECTS OF THE PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES ON THE COGNITIVE FUNCTIONS OF THE ELDERLY WITH MILD COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT

Introduction: Mild cognitive impairment is the pathological case in which the individual is between dementia and healthy. Therefore, especially in the protection, it is necessary to maintain and protect the cognitive functions. The physical activities exercised by the old people are crucial in increasing the cognitive functions or in maintenance of the present condition.Aim: In this research, the aim is to analyse the effects of the physical activities on the cognitive functions of the old people with mild cognitive impairment.Methods: The research was organized within the order of pretest-posttest design as experimental type using control groups. For the experiment, 25 old people with mild cognitive impairment who were convenient for physical activities were selected with regard to the doctors’ advice. For the control group, a group of old people with mild cognitive impairment was listed. For the old people in the experimental group, a physical activity programme was applied including 30 minutes walk and 30 minutes regular exercise three days in a week which had continued for four weeks. Nothing was applied on the control group. Sociodemographic form and Standardized Mini Mental Test were applied on the old people both before and after the activity. The data has been analysed using Mann Whitney U test and percentage distributions.Results: The average age of the experimental group is 71.3±3.6and the control group is 70.2±42. The average mini mental test point of the old people in the experimental group before the activity (20.6±2.4) increased considerably after the activity (24.3±3.6) and the difference is significant statistically (p<0.05). When the mini mental test points of the experimental and control group was compared after the activity, it was found out that the experimental group has higher points compared to the experimental group and the difference is significant (p<0.05).Conclusions: Regular and a three-day week physical activity program improved the cognitive functions of the old people with mild cognitive impairment.