Tao Y, Wang H, Zhang Z, et al. J Affect Disord. 2026;408:121913.
China
Exercise attendance averaged 90.1% with no intervention-related serious adverse events. At 24 weeks, aerobic and mind-body exercise improved MMSE versus control (Δ 3.45 and 3.29 points respectively); mind-body exercise improved immediate story recall and aerobic exercise improved TMT-B. MoCA, naming and TMT-A differences were not significant after multiplicity correction.
Pilot, single facility, small four-arm sample, multiple cognitive outcomes, limited power and generalisability; not specifically a frailty-selected cohort.
Assisted-living residents aged ≥80 years; mean age 86.8 years
The most useful signal is feasibility: even very old assisted-living residents can achieve high attendance with appropriately designed exercise. Cognitive benefits are promising but exploratory and too small-scale to drive practice alone.