Background: Cognitive impairment is a common issue afflicting the geriatric population and may lead to increased rates of morbidity and mortality. Traditional Thai exercise (Ruesi Dadton) can help reduce the risk of health problems and improve the quality of life (QoL).

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of traditional Thai exercise (Ruesi Dadton) in preventing cognitive impairment in older adults.

Materials and Methods: A quasi-experimental design was used for a posttest design. One hundred ninety-five eligible participants were recruited, including members of the elderly club in the elderly school for the intervention group and community-dwelling older adults for the control group. They were divided into two groups, with 65 as experimental group participants that were assigned to an 8-session intervention group, and 130 control group participants that received conventional care. The mini-mental state examination Thai version 2002 (MMSE-Thai 2002) was used to screen for cognitive impairment, and the Barthel activities of daily living (ADL) was used for assessing basic ADL function.

Results: There were statistically significant differences between the post-test scores of the two groups in MMSE (p<0.001), lower primary school (p=0.002), and higher primary school (p<0.001). The post-interventional analysis revealed that the mean value of the MMSE scores was 25.0±4.9 in the experimental group as compared with a mean value of 21.8±3.3 in the control group.

Conclusion: The traditional Thai exercise (Ruesi Dadton) program was effective in protecting against cognitive decline or dementia in the older population.

Keywords: Ruesi Dadton stretching exercise; Cognitive impairment; Older adults

DOI: 10.35755/jmedassocthai.2024.1.13938

Received 12 September 2023 | Revised 11 December 2023 | Accepted 14 December 2024