Dance may help one overall thinking test, but other tests showed no clear gain

The review

1. 01

   Who took part

   1,412 people aged 55 or over, in 11 studies. Seven studies had healthy older people, and four had people with mild thinking problems.

2. 02

   What they did

   Each dance group took dance classes 1 to 3 times a week, for 35 to 60 minutes, over 3 to 12 months. The other groups waited, walked, socialised, had health lessons or did aerobic exercise.

3. 03

   What happened

   The gain was on one short thinking test, and only in people with mild thinking problems. Other tests showed no clear difference, even though the paper's summary says dance probably helps people switch tasks. One memory test's numbers don't match the paper's description, so we can't give sizes for it.

What the review found

1. HelpedOther outcomes

   People who danced improved more on a short thinking test than the other groups did.

   Pooled analysis of 2 studies with 288 people · vs groups who waited, walked or did other activities · the authors rated their certainty moderate · ⚠ whole programmes were tested, so no single part can be credited

2. No differenceOther outcomes

   On another short thinking test, people who danced showed no clear difference from the other groups.

   Pooled analysis of 5 studies with 343 people · vs groups who waited, walked or did other activities · the authors rated their certainty low · ⚠ whole programmes were tested, so no single part can be credited

3. No differenceOther outcomes

   On a timed test of switching between tasks, people who danced showed no clear difference from the other groups.

   Pooled analysis of 4 studies with 701 people · vs groups who waited, walked or did other activities · the authors rated their certainty moderate · ⚠ whole programmes were tested, so no single part can be credited

4. No differenceFocus

   On a timed test of attention, people who danced showed no clear difference from the other groups.

   Pooled analysis of 4 studies with 701 people · vs groups who waited, walked or did other activities · the authors rated their certainty high · ⚠ whole programmes were tested, so no single part can be credited

Source