Effects of dance intervention on global cognition, executive function and memory of older adults: a meta-analysis and systematic review

Objective To summarize and assess the effects of dance intervention on global cognition, executive function and memory in older adults. Methods We searched the databases PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, Clinical Trials.Gov and four Chinese databases (CNKI, CBM, Wan Fang Data and VIP) to identify articles written in English or Chinese and published until April 2018. Randomized controlled trials and quasi-experiment were included if they evaluated the impact of dance on cognition, and individuals aged 60 and over. Results Thirteen studies with a total of 1605 participants met the inclusions criteria. Our primary outcomes of interest are cognitive functions and are categorized into three cognitive domains: (1)Global cognition: meta-analyses for outcome related to global cognition indicated a large effect size. In the subgroup of using MMSE, results indicated a significant effect for dance on cognition [MD = 1.57, 95% CI (0.53, 2.61), p = 0.003; I 2 = 62%], in the subgroup of using SCEF, effect sizes was statically significant and no heterogeneity between studies [MD = 33.25, 95% CI (30.94, 35.56), p