Introduction: Dementia represents one of the major public health challenges of modern society, as it leads to a gradual decline in cognitive abilities, behavioural changes and loss of independence. With the ageing of the global population, the number of people living with dementia is expected to rise, highlighting the need for effective, safe and affordable therapeutic approaches. Purpose: The aim of this diploma thesis was to examine the effects of dance exercise on older adults with dementia and to determine whether it can be used as a preventive measure and as support in alleviating dementia symptoms. Methods: A review of scientific literature was conducted using the PubMed database. The following keywords were used: “dance AND dementia”, “dance AND cognition”, “Waltz AND dementia” and “Tango AND dementia”. Studies published in the last ten years were included if they were designed as randomised controlled trials or clinical studies. Results: Based on the inclusion criteria, six studies were analysed that investigated the effects of dance-based interventions on individuals with dementia. The findings indicate dance exercise has positive effects on physical abilities (balance, gait), psychological well-being and cognitive functioning (Borges et al., 2018; Ghadiri et al., 2020; Ho et al., 2020; Zhu et al., 2018). Discussion and conclusion: Despite promising results, the reviewed studies were limited by small sample sizes, short intervention durations and unequal gender representation. Future research should include larger and longer studies to explore the long-term effects of dance interventions. Dance exercise appears to be a safe, cost-effective and beneficial non-pharmacological approach that complements conventional dementia treatments.
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