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- Title
A 5‐year community program in Singapore to prevent cognitive decline.
- Authors
Ng, Ted Kheng Siang; Feng, Lei; Chua, Ru Yuan; Goh, Lee Gan; Kua, Ee Heok; Mahendran, Rathi
- Abstract
Introduction: There is a scarcity of naturalistic follow‐up studies on cognitive stimulating activities (CSAs), particularly in a real‐world setting and over long‐term. We thus investigated a pooled novel CSA intervention to prevent cognitive decline amongst community‐dwelling older adults without dementia. Methods: Nested within a community‐based longitudinal follow‐up cohort study of community‐dwelling and multi‐ethnic older adults (N = 991), a subset of the cohort (n = 264) underwent four single‐blinded randomized controlled trials involving four novel CSAs, including mindfulness, horticulture, art therapy, and choral singing. At the cohort's 5‐year follow‐up, we examined if involvements in the CSAs improved cognition, compared to controls (n = 727). The primary outcomes were changes in global cognition and specific cognitive domain scores measured by the mini‐mental state examination (MMSE). Exploratory subgroup analyses stratified by baseline cognitive status and the number of CSAs were also conducted. Results: Compared to the control group, there was a small improvement in the CSA group on the total MMSE score (d = 0.108) and MMSE‐immediate recall score (d = 0.199). Furthermore, subgroup analyses revealed medium effect sizes of improvements (d = 0.420) in cognitive domains in mild cognitive impairment (MCI) (vs. cognitively healthy) and those involved in two CSAs (vs. one CSA). Discussion: In summary, a CSA intervention improved cognition. MCI and those involved in two CSAs gained greater benefits from the CSAs. These sustained improvements in cognitive functions could have a significant impact on delaying or preventing dementia.
- Subjects
SINGAPORE; COGNITION disorders; ART therapy; COMMUNITIES; COGNITION; COGNITIVE ability; MILD cognitive impairment; MINI-Mental State Examination
- Publication
Asia-Pacific Psychiatry, 2022, Vol 14, Issue 4, p1
- ISSN
1758-5864
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1111/appy.12518