Network Meta-Analysis of Dance and Exercise Interventions for Cognitive Impairment

A 2026 systematic review and network meta-analysis synthesizes evidence from 209 randomized controlled trials involving 3,773 participants with mild cognitive impairment or dementia. The study compares the efficacy of dance versus other exercise modalities on cognitive function, psychological wellbeing, and physical performance. It was authored by Ye Zhao and published on figshare under a CC BY 4.0 license.

Use Cases

• Compare the Surface Under the Cumulative Ranking Curve (SUCRA) rankings for dance versus other exercise modalities on global cognition measured by the MoCA.
• Analyze the standardized mean differences and p-values from pairwise meta-analyses for specific outcomes like working memory, attention, and executive function.
• Investigate the comparative efficacy of interventions based on the network meta-analysis results for primary outcomes of cognitive function, psychological wellbeing, and physical performance.

Strengths

• The analysis is based on a substantial evidence base of 209 randomized controlled trials.
• The study provides a direct comparative ranking of multiple exercise interventions using network meta-analysis methodology.
• Results include specific statistical measures such as standardized mean differences, p-values, and SUCRA rankings for various cognitive and physical outcomes.

Limitations

• Several favorable SUCRA rankings for dance are noted to be driven by single studies, indicating sparse evidence for some comparisons.
• The dataset is a single 382.6 KB PDF document, not a structured tabular dataset, limiting direct computational analysis.
• The underlying participant-level data from the 3,773 individuals in the included trials is not provided.

Provenance

Source

figshare, authored by Ye Zhao.

Collection Method

Systematic review and Bayesian network meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials from five databases.

Time Range

The publication date is 2026; the temporal coverage of the included primary studies is not specified.

Freshness

Last updated on 2026-03-25.