Effect of an 18-Month Walking Intervention on the Rest-Activity Rhythm of Older Adults With Mild-Moderate Dementia

The objective of this 18-month walking intervention was to evaluate the effect on rest-activity rhythm (RAR) for older adults with mild-to-moderate dementia (65.8% female; aged M = 82.4 [SD = 6.5]). The intervention group (n = 44) was intended to walk 30 min, five times per week for 18 months. The control group (n = 35) received sedentary activities or usual care. RAR was measured at baseline to after 18 months and five times in between actigraphy outcome variables (interdaily stability, intradaily variability, relative amplitude, activity 10 most active hours, and activity 5 least active hours). Hierarchical mixed model analyses revealed no significant intervention effects (with or without baseline confounders as covariate) on RAR. However, participants in the intervention group were able to significantly increase their daily life activity (activity 10 most active hours) from the onset of the preceding measurement, b = 0.10, t(239.32) = 2.36, p = .019. More research is warranted to study the effect of regular walks on older persons with dementia whose RAR is worst at baseline.