Mind-body exercise improves cognition in mild cognitive impairment, and the hospital stay belongs in post-discharge falls risk

The edition in brief

A meta-analysis of 17 randomised trials in 1,251 older adults with mild cognitive impairment found that mind-body exercise such as tai chi, Baduanjin, yoga and meditation improved global cognition (SMD 0.82), verbal fluency, executive function and episodic and short-term memory, with no clear effect on processing speed; tai chi and programmes longer than 12 weeks looked most beneficial. A conceptual paper proposes adding a fifth domain, hospitalisation and subsequent care, to the WHO risk factor model for falls, capturing length of stay, in-hospital delirium and falls, and transitional care after discharge; it is a framework, not tested evidence. A US study reported that, among people with mild cognitive impairment, uncorrected vision impairment was associated with higher dementia risk than corrected or no impairment. A small methodological study found telephone administration of the IQCODE informant questionnaire agreed acceptably with in-person use (ICC 0.74). The pearl covers measuring orthostatic blood pressure properly.