Effects of aquatic physical exercise on neuropsychological factors in older people: A systematic review

•Aquatic exercises interventions improve cognitive functions of older people.•Aquatic physical exercise has positive effects on quality of life of older adults.•Physical capacity of older adults is improved with aquatic therapy.•Aquatic exercises have a greater adherence in older population. . There is a lack of standardized protocols and clinical trials for older adults involving neuropsychological factors in the literature. Furthermore, no systematic review has been published investigating this theme. . The purpose of this systematic review was to analyze the effects of aquatic physical exercise on neuropsychological factors in older adults. . A systematic review (CRD42020176899) was conducted, using articles from Pubmed, Web of Science, Scopus, Cochrane Library, Science Direct and Medline published until March 2020 (without limit of previous year). Eligibility criteria for selecting studies were: clinical trials; samples with a mean age of 65 years old and over; articles involving aquatic physical exercise; and presenting neuropsychological outcomes (behavior, cognition, psychological, mental health). . The search yielded 801 records and 16 studies were included, totaling: 1707 older adults, with a mean age of 71.3 years old (range of mean ages in the studies: 65.3 to 88.4 years old) and a predominance of women. Aquatic physical exercise showed positive results in the mental component of quality of life, fear of falling, mood, anxiety and internal health locus of control in healthy sedentary older adults. Only one study out of 5 carried out with older adults with osteoarthritis showed improvements in psychological well-being after aquatic intervention. Older women with osteopenia or osteoporosis showed improvements in the mental component of quality of life. Studies on dementia showed a significant improvement in behavioral and psychological symptoms after aquatic intervention and no effect on depressive symptoms. . Based on the results of this systematic review, aquatic physical exercise has positive effects on quality of life, fear of falling, cognitive functions, mood, anxiety and internal health locus of control in sedentary community-dwelling older people. It can be a great resource for carrying out physical activities in this population.