Effects of aerobic exercise on cognitive and psychosocial functioning in patients with mild hypertension

The effects of 16 weeks of physical exercise training on the psychological functioning of 90 patients with mild hypertension were examined. At baseline and after 16 weeks of training, patients completed a psychometric test battery that included objective measures of neuropsychological performance and standardized self-report measures of psychosocial functioning. Patients were randomly assigned to one of three groups: aerobic exercise, strength training and flexibility exercise, or a waiting list control group. After training, there were no group differences on any of the psychological measures, even though patients who engaged in exercise perceived themselves as functioning better in a number of psychological domains.