Abstract
Objective
To test the hypothesis that a long-term, structured cognitive leisure activity program
is more effective than a health education program at reducing the risk of further
cognitive decline in older adults with mild cognitive impairment syndrome (MCI), a
high risk for dementia.
Design
A 3-arm, single-blind randomized controlled trial.
Setting
Community.
Participants
A total of 201 Japanese adults with MCI (mean age: 76.0 years, 52% women).
Interventions
Participants were randomized into 1 of 2 cognitive leisure activity programs (60 minutes
weekly for 40 weeks): dance (n = 67) and playing musical instruments (n = 67), or
a health education control group (n = 67).
Measurements
Primary outcomes were memory function changes at 40 weeks. Secondary outcomes included
changes in Mini-Mental State Examination and nonmemory domain (Trail Making Tests
A and B) scores.
Results
At 40 weeks, the dance group showed improved memory recall scores compared with controls
[mean change (SD): dance group 0.73 (1.9) vs controls 0.01 (1.9); P = .011], whereas the music group did not show an improvement compared with controls
(P = .123). Both dance [mean change (SD): 0.29 (2.6); P = .026] and music groups [mean change (SD): 0.46 (2.1); P = .008] showed improved Mini-Mental State Examination scores compared with controls
[mean change (SD): −0.36 (2.3)]. No difference in the nonmemory cognitive tests was
observed.
Conclusions
Long-term cognitive leisure activity programs involving dance or playing musical instruments
resulted in improvements in memory and general cognitive function compared with a
health education program in older adults with MCI.
Trial Registration
UMIN-CTR UMIN000014261.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: April 07, 2017
Footnotes
The study was supported by grants from Health and Labor Sciences Research Grants (Comprehensive Research on Aging and Health), Strategic Basic Research Programs (RISTEX Redesigning Communities for Aged Society) from Japan Science, and Technology Agency, Research Funding for Longevity Sciences (22-16) from the National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology, Japan.
Dr Shimada reported receiving grant funding from Obu City, Takahama City, Kao Corporation, and Toyota Motor Corporation as a primary investigator. No other disclosures were reported.
Identification
Copyright
© 2017 AMDA - The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine.
