TITLE:
Effects of Aerobic Exercise on Physical, Mental, and Cognitive Impairments in Patients with Parkinson’s Disease: A Systematic Review
AUTHORS:
Ruiping Xia, Christopher Blimberg, Francisco Sotelo, Zekiel Vandernaalt
KEYWORDS:
Parkinson’s Disease (PD), Aerobic Exercise, Motor Symptoms, Mental Symptoms, Cognitive Symptoms, Systematic Review
JOURNAL NAME:
Advances in Parkinson's Disease,
Vol.14 No.4,
November
13,
2025
ABSTRACT: Purpose/Hypothesis: Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a progressive, neurodegenerative disorder characterized by both motor and non-motor symptoms. The motor symptoms comprise bradykinesia, rigidity, tremor, and postural instability. The non-motor symptoms may include anxiety, depression, and cognitive impairment. As the disease advances, PD symptoms also progress, leading to deterioration in physical, mental, and cognitive function. Mounting evidence shows that aerobic exercise may boost neuroplasticity in aging adults and patients with PD. Thus, the purpose of this systematic review was to examine the effects of aerobic exercise on motor, mental, and cognitive impairments in people with PD. Materials and Methods: Five databases (PubMed, CINAHL, Medline Complete, Cochrane Library, and Google Scholar) were systematically searched. To be eligible for inclusion, the study must have: 1) enrolled participants with idiopathic PD, 2) administered aerobic exercise as an intervention, (3) compared aerobic exercise with no exercise/other exercise, (4) measured motor, mental, and cognitive functions, and (5) used a randomized controlled design. The Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro) scale was applied to assess the methodological quality of each trial. Results: Eight studies were included in this review, with a sample size of 507 patient participants. PEDro scores ranged from 5/10 to 9/10, indicating a fair to strong quality of the trials. Motor severity was assessed using the Unified PD Rating Scale-III. Significant between-group differences were reported in four of seven studies in favor of aerobic exercise (p Conclusions: Findings of this review study suggest that aerobic exercise improves physical, mental, and cognitive function in patients with PD. Aerobic exercise may stimulate neuroplasticity and facilitate cognitive control networks in PD. More research is needed to expand the evidence on this topic to guide treatment for this patient population. Clinical Relevance: Patients with PD may benefit from aerobic exercise for improved function in several domains. Integrating aerobic exercise with the clinical management of PD can be pivotal for enhancing the quality of life in people living with PD.