Abstract
Aim
To synthesize the evidence for using exercise in the management of cognitive symptoms in Parkinson’s disease (PD).
Methods
Systematic review and meta-analysis (random-effects model) following the PRISMA statement. We searched on PubMed, Cochrane Library, Scopus, Web of Science, Embase, and PEDro, from May to June 2023.
Results
Forty-seven papers were retrieved, and ten studies were included in the meta-analysis. A small-to-moderate effect (−0.40 [95% CI = −0.81, 0.00]) was found for general cognitive function favoring exercise (n = 157). A small effect (−0.30 [−0.58, −0.02]) was found for executive function, with a sub-group analysis showing a near-significant effect of aerobic exercise in comparison to non-exercise control (−0.39 [−0.80, 0.02]).
Conclusions
Evidence shows that exercise has an important effect in reducing general and executive cognitive symptoms in PD. The relevance of aerobic exercises, the statistical trends in subdomains, and the quality of the evidence are discussed in this paper.
Acknowledgements
This work is part of a research project supported by the graduate scholarship program of the Brazilian Federal Agency for Support and Evaluation of Graduate Education (CAPES)/Ministry of Education of Brazil (no grant apply).
Disclosure statement
The authors have no conflict of interest to report.
Author contributions
VC: conceptualization, design, searches, data extraction, analyses, data visualization, drafting and writing; AOBS: searches, data extraction, drafting and revision; TSSB: data extraction, analyses, manuscript revision; TFR: data extraction and manuscript revision; ACG: conceptualization, design, analyses, critical revision of the manuscript.
Data availability statement
All data produced from this review, including extracted data tables and spreadsheets, can be made available upon appropriate request to the corresponding author.