Long-term Effects of Exercise on Psychological Functioning in Older Men and Women
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to determine the psychological, behavioral, and cognitive changes associated with up to 14 months of aerobic exercise training. For the first 4 months of the study, 101 older (greater than 60 years) men and women were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: Aerobic exercise, Yoga, or a Waiting List control group. Before and following the intervention, all subjects completed a comprehensive assessment battery, including measures of mood and cognitive functioning. A semi-crossover design was employed such that, following completion of the second assessment, all subjects completed 4 months of aerobic exercise and underwent a third assessment. Subjects were given the option of participating in 6 additional months of supervised aerobic exercise (14 months total), and all subjects, regardless of their exercise status, completed a fourth assessment. Results indicated that subjects experienced a 10-15% improvement in aerobic capacity. In general, there were relatively few improvements in cognitive performance associated with aerobic exercise, although subjects who maintained their exercise participation for 14 months experienced improvements in some psychiatric symptoms. However, the healthy subjects in this study were functioning at a relatively high level to begin with, and exercise training may produce greater improvements among elderly with concomitant physical or emotional impairments.
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In a 4-month randomized trial of 101 adults over 60, cognitive improvements were equivalent across aerobic, yoga, and wait-list groups.
“Improvements in performance in a number of cognitive tasks were observed. However, these improvements were equivalent across groups.”
From Enrichment Effects on Adult Cognitive Development: Can the Functional Capacity of Older Adults Be Preserved and Enhanced? (2008) · cites this paper as Blumenthal et al. (1991)
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- Authors
- Blumenthal, J. A., Emery, C. F., Madden, D. J., Schniebolk, S., Walsh-riddle, M., George, L. K., McKee, D. C., Higginbotham, M. B., Cobb, F. R., & Coleman, R. E.
- Affiliations
- Duke Medical Center (US)
- Venue
- Journal of Gerontology
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 1991-11-01
- Volume
- 46
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- P352-P361
- ISSN
- 0022-1422 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2021443412
- Cited by
- 241
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 6 · 2020: 3 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 6 · 2017: 2 · 2016: 13 · 2015: 9 · 2014: 7 · 2013: 15 · 2012: 12
- FWCI
- 1.99
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Gerontology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institutes of Health (5r01ag004238-03, 5r01hl030675-06)
- National Institute on Aging (AG 04238)
- National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (HL 30675)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Physical Activity and Health
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology › Aging and Gerontology Research
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Complementary and alternative medicine › Cardiovascular and exercise physiology
- Keywords
- aerobic exercise training, older adults, psychological functioning, mood, cognitive performance, cardiorespiratory fitness, yoga, exercise adherence, long-term training effects
- MeSH terms
- Affect, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Aging, Anxiety, Mental Disorders, Cognition, Depression, Female, Follow-Up Studies, Heart Rate, Humans, Male, Memory, Middle Aged, Motor Skills, Oxygen Consumption, Physical Fitness, Psychomotor Performance, Time Factors, Waiting Lists, Yoga, Cohort Studies, Exercise
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