Gardening improves balance, walking speed in elderly with dementia

A recent study highlights that gardening can enhance balance and walking speed in elderly individuals with dementia.

In Short

• In 2023, more than 55 million people had dementia worldwide
• Gardening can improve balance and walking speed of dementia patients, says new study
• It may be due to both physical activity and exposure to green spaces

Gardening can improve balance and walking speed in older individuals suffering from dementia, according to a new study.

Dementia is a geriatric condition described as a deterioration in memory and other cognitive abilities that impairs daily functioning.

In 2023, more than 55 million people had dementia worldwide, but the incidence of dementia cases will likely grow in the coming decades simply because we live longer.

According to some estimates, the number of dementia cases may triple by 2050.

Conducted by researchers from Semmelweis University, the clinical study suggests that horticultural therapy could be a promising non-pharmacological intervention for alleviating symptoms for the elderly with cognitive impairment (CI) and dementia.

The study involved institutionalised elderly participants who took part in hour-long gardening sessions, twice a week, over a 12-week period.

Activities such as preparing the beds, weeding, trimming, and harvesting were included in these sessions. The participants were compared to a control group that did not engage in gardening but participated in the institution’s other social activities.

By the end of the study, the gardening group maintained their baseline performance in static balance, while the control group experienced a decline.

Additionally, the gardening group saw improvements in gait speed, a key factor linked to cognitive decline, whereas no such improvement was observed in the control group.

However, no differences were found between the two groups in terms of dynamic balance.

The positive outcomes of the study were attributed to the combination of physical activity and exposure to green spaces, which have long been known to benefit mental and physical health.

"Horticultural therapy has been shown to reduce neuropsychiatric symptoms like anxiety and depression, but we wanted to see its impact on balance," explained Valéria Farkas, the study’s lead author from the Faculty of Health Sciences at Semmelweis University.

Dementia often leads to deteriorating balance and slower gait, issues that can severely affect mobility and safety in elderly individuals. "Maintaining balance and walking requires more cognitive control as we age," noted Eva Kovacs, professor at Semmelweis University and corresponding author of the study.

She emphasised the increased need for attention when performing tasks like walking and talking simultaneously, which elderly individuals often struggle with.

The study also found unexpected social benefits among the gardening participants. Conversations were more frequent, and participants were more engaged in other community activities.

Caregivers observed a reduction in aggressive behaviour and inappropriate language among the patients during and after the gardening sessions.

With dementia cases expected to rise globally, alternative interventions like horticultural therapy offer promising potential in managing cognitive decline.

"Our results confirm that horticultural therapy can be successfully applied to this task," added Dr Kovács, reinforcing the need for further exploration into such therapies.