Effects of remote combine exercise-music training on physical and cognitive performance in patients with Alzheimer's disease: a randomized controlled trial

Introduction This study aimed to investigate the effects of combined remote music and exercise training on the cognitive, psychological, and physical function of patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD).Methods Forty-one AD patients were randomly allocated to three groups, including control (C), training (T), and training with music (TM) groups. Participants were evaluated by cognitive and performance test batteries before and after the interventions. Both experimental groups performed 36 remote workouts in 3 months online via WhatsApp video call individually with the trainer. Training included simple and varied movements of all physical indicators. The number of sets began with two sets and progressively increased to one set every month, 5-10 repetitions per set. The overload was applied by reducing the break between sets every week. The TM group performed the same exercises while listening to Mozart and traditional Iranian songs.Results We observed a significant main, group, time, and interaction effect on Romberg (eta p2:0.72), 30 s chair sit and stand (eta p2:0.75), and walking on steppe test (eta p2:0.63). Furthermore, there was a significant main time and interaction effect on push-ups (eta p2:0.43), sit and reach (eta p2:0.64), and MMSE (eta p2:0.76). In all variables, two experimental groups demonstrated substantial improvements than the C group (p < 0.01). In addition, the TM group (27.8%) showed a significant improvement compared to the C group (-6.4%) and the T group (12.2%) in MMSE.Conclusion Combined remote training with listening to music as adjuvant treatment is an appropriate item to improve the cognitive and physical performance of Alzheimer's patients, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.