Aerobic exercise combined with memory strategy training improve the cognitive function

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is closely associated with the occurrence of cognitive impairment, imposing a heavy burden on the patient's family and society. Aerobic exercise and targeted memory strategies have been widely reported to improve cognitive function.

A total of 122 T2DM patients with Montreal Cognitive Assessment Scale (MoCA) test scores of less than 26 received the aerobic exercise combined with memory strategy training. After 6 months of intervention, a final group of 113 patients entered the final evaluation and analysis. Diabetes-specific quality of life scale (DSQL) and activities of daily living (ADL) assessments were performed to evaluate the life quality of the patients.

The scores of MoCA and ADL were significantly upregulated, and the scores of DSQL were significantly reduced after the 6-month intervention of T2DM patients. The levels of fasting plasma glucose (FPG), hemoglobin A1c, total cholesterol (TC), and triglyceride (TG) levels of T2DM patients with cognitive impairment significantly decreased post intervention. A significant decrease in low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and an increase in high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) were observed. The FPG, HbA1, TC, TG, and LDL-C levels were significantly lower, and the HDL-C levels were significantly higher in patients with normal cognitive function than in patients with abnormal cognitive function.

Aerobic exercise combined with memory strategy training effectively improved the memory and cognitive function in patients with T2DM.