Efectos de los videojuegos activos adicionados al ejercicio convencional sobre la función cognitiva en adultos mayores: un ensayo aleatorizado

Autores/as

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.47197/retos.v75.118264

Palabras clave:

Adultos mayores, función cognitiva, videojuegos activos, calidad de vida relacionada con la salud

Resumen

Introducción: El deterioro cognitivo en los adultos mayores afecta negativamente la independencia y la calidad de vida relacionada con la salud (CVRS). La integración de estímulos físicos y cognitivos mediante videojuegos activos (VJA) podría potenciar los beneficios del ejercicio físico convencional (EFC).

Objetivo: Evaluar los efectos de adicionar VJA a un programa de EFC sobre la función cognitiva y la CVRS en adultos mayores que viven en la comunidad.

Metodología: Se realizó un ensayo controlado con dos grupos paralelos. Cincuenta participantes de 60-84 años fueron asignados aleatoriamente a un grupo intervención (GI: EFC+VJA) o a un grupo control (GC: solo EFC) durante ocho semanas (dos sesiones/semana). La función cognitiva (resultado primario) se evaluó con el Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), y la CVRS (resultado secundario) con la versión 2 del Short Form Health Survey (SF-12v2).

Resultados: Ambos grupos mostraron mejoras en varios dominios cognitivos; sin embargo, el GI presentó incrementos significativamente mayores en lenguaje, recuerdo diferido y función cognitiva global (p<0.05). La proporción de participantes con función cognitiva normal aumentó en un 36% en el GI (p=0.003) frente a un 12% en el GC (p>0.05). En comparación con el GC, el GI mostró mejoras significativas en las dimensiones física y mental de la CVRS (p<0.05).

Conclusiones: Los hallazgos sugieren que añadir VJA al EFC puede mejorar la función cognitiva y la CVRS de manera más efectiva que el EFC por sí solo. Los VJA parecen ser un complemento seguro, atractivo y prometedor para promover la salud cognitiva y el bienestar en adultos mayores.

Referencias

Bacha, J. M. R., Gomes, G. C. V., de Freitas, T. B., Viveiro, L. A. P., da Silva, K. G., Bueno, G. C., Varise, E. M., Torriani-Pasin, C., Alonso, A. C., Luna, N. M. S., D’Andrea Greve, J. M., & Pompeu, J. E. (2018). Effects of Kinect Adventures games versus conventional physical therapy on postural control in elderly people: A randomized controlled trial. Games for Health Journal, 7(1), 24–36. https://doi.org/10.1089/g4h.2017.0065

Biazus-Sehn, L. F., Schuch, F. B., Firth, J., & Stigger, F. de S. (2020). Effects of physical exercise on cogni-tive function of older adults with mild cognitive impairment: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics, 89, 104048. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.archger.2020.104048

Cacciata, M., Stromberg, A., Lee, J.-A., Sorkin, D., Lombardo, D., Clancy, S., Nyamathi, A., & Evangelista, L. S. (2019). Effect of exergaming on health-related quality of life in older adults: A systematic re-view. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 93, 30–40. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2019.01.010

Cai, Z., Ma, Y., Li, L., & Lu, G.-Z. (2023). Effects of exergaming in older individuals with mild cognitive impairment and dementia: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Geriatric Nursing, 51, 351–359. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gerinurse.2023.03.028

Carrasco, M., Ortiz-Maqués, N., & Martínez-Rodríguez, S. (2020). Playing with Nintendo Wii Sports: Im-pact on physical activity, perceived health and cognitive functioning of a group of community-dwelling older adults. Activities, Adaptation & Aging, 44(2), 119–131. https://doi.org/10.1080/01924788.2019.1595261

Cheak-Zamora, N. C., Wyrwich, K. W., & McBride, T. D. (2009). Reliability and validity of the SF-12v2 in the medical expenditure panel survey. Quality of Life Research, 18(6), 727–735. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-009-9483-1

Cigarroa, I., Zapata-Lamana, R., Leiva-Gajardo, G., Vasquez, E., Parrado-Romero, E., Vásquez-Gomez, J., Alvarez, C., Petermann-Rocha, F., & Reyes-Molina, D. (2022). Adherence characteristics and rea-sons for abandonment of physical exercise-based interventions in older adults in Latin America: A scoping review. Retos, 44, 10–26. https://doi.org/10.47197/retos.v44i0.89359

Collado-Mateo, D., Lavín-Pérez, A. M., Peñacoba, C., Del Coso, J., Leyton-Román, M., Luque-Casado, A., Gasque, P., Fernández-del-Olmo, M. Á., & Amado-Alonso, D. (2021). Key factors associated with adherence to physical exercise in patients with chronic diseases and older adults: An umbrella review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(4), 2023. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18042023

Cossio, S., Chiappinotto, S., Dentice, S., Moreal, C., Magro, G., Dussi, G., Palese, A., & Galazzi, A. (2025). Cybersickness and discomfort from head-mounted displays delivering fully immersive virtual reality: A systematic review. Nurse Education in Practice, 85, 104376. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nepr.2025.104376

Costa, M. T. S., Vieira, L. P., Barbosa, E. de O., Mendes Oliveira, L., Maillot, P., Otero Vaghetti, C. A., Giovani Carta, M., Machado, S., Gatica-Rojas, V., & Monteiro-Junior, R. S. (2019). Virtual reality-based ex-ercise with exergames as medicine in different contexts: A short review. Clinical Practice and Epidemiology in Mental Health: CP & EMH, 15, 15–20. https://doi.org/10.2174/1745017901915010015

Cugusi, L., Prosperini, L., & Mura, G. (2021). Exergaming for quality of life in persons living with chronic diseases: A systematic review and meta-analysis. PM&R, 13(7), 756–780. https://doi.org/10.1002/pmrj.12444

Delgado, C., Araneda, A., & Behrens, M. I. (2019). Validation of the Spanish-language version of the Mon-treal Cognitive Assessment test in adults older than 60 years. Neurología, 34(6), 376–385. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nrl.2017.01.013

Fernández, J. A., Farfán, D. C., & Cuartas, L. A. H. (2025). Functional fitness, risk of sarcopenia, grip strength, and cognitive decline in physically active older women. Retos, 73, 1199–1219. https://doi.org/10.47197/retos.v73.117099

Flynn, R. M., & Richert, R. A. (2018). Cognitive, not physical, engagement in video gaming influences executive functioning. Journal of Cognition and Development, 19(1), 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1080/15248372.2017.1419246

Fusco, A., & Tieri, G. (2022). Challenges and perspectives for clinical applications of immersive and non-immersive virtual reality. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 11(15), 4540. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm11154540

Gaete, M., Jorquera, S., Bello-Lepe, S., Mendoza, Y. M., Véliz, M., Alonso-Sanchez, M. F., & Lira, J. (2023). Standardised results of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) for neurocognitive screen-ing in a Chilean population. Neurología (English Edition), 38(4), 246–255. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nrleng.2020.08.021

Gonçalves, A., Muñoz, J., Cameirão, M. S., Gouveia, É. R., Sousa, H., & Bermúdez i Badia, S. (2021). The benefits of custom exergames for fitness, balance, and health-related quality of life: A random-ized controlled trial with community-dwelling older adults. Games for Health Journal, 10(4), 245–253. https://doi.org/10.1089/g4h.2020.0092

Gouveia, É. R., Smailagic, A., Ihle, A., Marques, A., Gouveia, B. R., Cameirão, M., Sousa, H., Kliegel, M., & Siewiorek, D. (2021). The efficacy of a multicomponent functional fitness program based on exergaming on cognitive functioning of healthy older adults: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of Aging and Physical Activity, 29(4), 586–594. https://doi.org/10.1123/japa.2020-0083

Guede-Rojas, F., Andrades-Torres, B., Aedo-Díaz, N., González-Koppen, C., Muñoz-Fuentes, M., Enríquez-Enríquez, D., Carvajal-Parodi, C., Mendoza, C., Alvarez, C., & Fuentes-Contreras, J. (2024). Effects of exergames on rehabilitation outcomes in patients with osteoarthritis. A systematic review. Disability and Rehabilitation, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1080/09638288.2024.2368057

Gui, W., Cui, X., Miao, J., Zhu, X., & Li, J. (2024). The effects of simultaneous aerobic exercise and video game training on executive functions and brain connectivity in older adults. The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry : Official Journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psy-chiatry, 32(10), 1244–1258. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jagp.2024.04.009

He, C., Kong, X., Li, J., Wang, X., Chen, X., Wang, Y., Zhao, Q., & Tao, Q. (2023). Predictors for quality of life in older adults: Network analysis on cognitive and neuropsychiatric symptoms. BMC Geriatrics, 23(1), 850. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12877-023-04462-4

Islam, N., Hashem, R., Gad, M., Brown, A., Levis, B., Renoux, C., Thombs, B. D., & McInnes, M. D. (2023). Accuracy of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment tool for detecting mild cognitive impairment: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Alzheimer’s & Dementia, 19(7), 3235–3243. https://doi.org/10.1002/alz.13040

Lee, K. (2023). Home-based exergame program to improve physical function, fall efficacy, depression, and quality of life in community-dwelling older adults: A randomized controlled trial. Healthcare, 11(8), 1109. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare11081109

Liao, Y.-Y., Chen, I.-H., Hsu, W.-C., Tseng, H.-Y., & Wang, R.-Y. (2021). Effect of exergaming versus com-bined exercise on cognitive function and brain activation in frail older adults: A randomised controlled trial. Annals of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine, 64(5), 101492. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rehab.2021.101492

Liguori, G. (Ed.). (2021). ACSM’s guidelines for exercise testing and prescription (11th ed.). Wolters Kluwer.

Litz, E., Werner, C., Bauer, J. M., & Hauer, K. (2021). Effects and feasibility of a memory exergame train-ing in older adults: A randomized controlled trial. Games for Health Journal, 10(6), 383–390. https://doi.org/10.1089/g4h.2021.0032

López-Nava, I. H., Rodriguez, M. D., García-Vázquez, J. P., Perez-Sanpablo, A. I., Quiñones-Urióstegui, I., Meneses-Peñaloza, A., Castillo, V., Cuaya-Simbro, G., Armenta, J. S., Martínez, A., Sánchez, W., Ca-ro, K., Martínez-García, A. I., & Favela, J. (2023). Current state and trends of the research in exer-games for the elderly and their impact on health outcomes: A scoping review. Journal of Ambi-ent Intelligence and Humanized Computing, 14(8), 10977–11009. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12652-022-04364-0

Mair, P., & Wilcox, R. (2020). Robust statistical methods in R using the WRS2 package. Behavior Re-search Methods, 52(2), 464–488. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13428-019-01246-w

Manser, P., Herold, F., & de Bruin, E. D. (2024). Components of effective exergame-based training to improve cognitive functioning in middle-aged to older adults – A systematic review and meta-analysis. Ageing Research Reviews, 99, 102385. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.arr.2024.102385

Moret, B., Nucci, M., & Campana, G. (2022). Effects of exergames on mood and cognition in healthy old-er adults: A randomized pilot study. Frontiers in Psychology, 13(1018601). https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1018601

Nasreddine, Z. S., Phillips, N. A., Bédirian, V., Charbonneau, S., Whitehead, V., Collin, I., Cummings, J. L., & Chertkow, H. (2005). The Montreal Cognitive Assessment, MoCA: A brief screening tool for mild cognitive impairment. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 53(4), 695–699. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1532-5415.2005.53221.x

Ogawa, E. F., You, T., & Leveille, S. G. (2016). Potential benefits of exergaming for cognition and dual-task function in older adults: A systematic review. Journal of Aging and Physical Activity, 24(2), 332–336. https://doi.org/10.1123/japa.2014-0267

Pan, C.-W., Wang, X., Ma, Q., Sun, H.-P., Xu, Y., & Wang, P. (2015). Cognitive dysfunction and health-related quality of life among older Chinese. Scientific Reports, 5(1), 17301. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep17301

Ren, Y., Wang, Q., Liu, H., Wang, G., & Lu, A. (2024). Effects of immersive and non-immersive virtual reality-based rehabilitation training on cognition, motor function, and daily functioning in pa-tients with mild cognitive impairment or dementia: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Clinical Rehabilitation, 38(3), 305–321. https://doi.org/10.1177/02692155231213476

Rieker, J. A., Reales, J. M., Muiños, M., & Ballesteros, S. (2022). The effects of combined cognitive-physical interventions on cognitive functioning in healthy older adults: A systematic review and multilevel meta-analysis. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 16(838968). https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2022.838968

Sakaki, K., Nouchi, R., Matsuzaki, Y., Saito, T., Dinet, J., & Kawashima, R. (2021). Benefits of VR physical exercise on cognition in older adults with and without mild cognitive decline: A systematic re-view of randomized controlled trials. Healthcare, 9(7), 883. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare9070883

Soares, V. N., Yoshida, H. M., Magna, T. S., Sampaio, R. A. C., & Fernandes, P. T. (2021). Comparison of exergames versus conventional exercises on the cognitive skills of older adults: A systematic review with meta-analysis. Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics, 97, 104485. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.archger.2021.104485

Song, D., & Yu, D. S. F. (2019). Effects of a moderate-intensity aerobic exercise programme on the cog-nitive function and quality of life of community-dwelling elderly people with mild cognitive impairment: A randomised controlled trial. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 93, 97–105. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2019.02.019

Stanmore, E. K., Mavroeidi, A., de Jong, L. D., Skelton, D. A., Sutton, C. J., Benedetto, V., Munford, L. A., Meekes, W., Bell, V., & Todd, C. (2019). The effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of strength and balance Exergames to reduce falls risk for people aged 55 years and older in UK assisted living facilities: A multi-centre, cluster randomised controlled trial. BMC Medicine, 17(1), 49. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12916-019-1278-9

Stødle, I. V., Debesay, J., Pajalic, Z., Lid, I. M., & Bergland, A. (2019). The experience of motivation and adherence to group-based exercise of Norwegians aged 80 and more: A qualitative study. Ar-chives of Public Health, 77(1), 26. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13690-019-0354-0

Thompson, W. W., Zack, M. M., Krahn, G. L., Andresen, E. M., & Barile, J. P. (2012). Health-related quality of life among older adults with and without functional limitations. American Journal of Public Health, 102(3), 496–502. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2011.300500

Vasodi, E., Saatchian, V., & Dehghan Ghahfarokhi, A. (2023). Virtual reality-based exercise interventions on quality of life, some balance factors and depression in older adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Geriatric Nursing, 53, 227–239. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gerinurse.2023.07.019

Wang, Z., Xu, X., Yang, X., Wang, S. S., Zhou, Y., & Li, Y. (2024). Effects of multicomponent exercise on cognitive function in persons with mild cognitive impairment: A systematic review and meta-analysis. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 158, 104843. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2024.104843

Ware, J. E., Kosinski, M., Turner-Bowker, D. M., & Gandek, B. (2002). How to score version 2 of the SF-12 health survey: With a supplement documenting version 1. QualityMetric Inc.

Wilcox, R. R., & Tian, T. S. (2011). Measuring effect size: A robust heteroscedastic approach for two or more groups. Journal of Applied Statistics, 38(7), 1359–1368. https://doi.org/10.1080/02664763.2010.498507

Xiong, J., Ye, M., Wang, L., & Zheng, G. (2021). Effects of physical exercise on executive function in cog-nitively healthy older adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials: Physical exercise for executive function. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 114, 103810. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2020.103810

Yang, Y., Wang, K., Liu, S., Liu, H., Zhang, T., & Luo, J. (2023). Exergames improve cognitive function in older adults and their possible mechanisms: A systematic review. Journal of Global Health, 13, 04177. https://doi.org/10.7189/jogh.13.04177

Descargas

Publicado

02-02-2026

Número

Sección

Artículos de carácter científico: investigaciones básicas y/o aplicadas

Cómo citar

Medel-Gutiérrez, M. J., Cárcamo-Vargas, M., Soto-Martínez, A., Carvajal-Parodi, C., Ulloa-Díaz, D., Concha-Cisternas, Y., & Guede-Rojas, F. (2026). Efectos de los videojuegos activos adicionados al ejercicio convencional sobre la función cognitiva en adultos mayores: un ensayo aleatorizado. Retos, 75, 640-651. https://doi.org/10.47197/retos.v75.118264