Dataset Information

Mindfulness Awareness Practice (MAP) to Prevent Dementia in Older Adults with Mild Cognitive Impairment: Protocol of a Randomized Controlled Trial and Implementation Outcomes.

ABSTRACT:

Background

With an aging population, developing non-pharmacological interventions (NPIs) to delay dementia has become critical. Apart from cognitive decline, dementia is associated with multiple pathophysiology, including increased oxidative stress, dysregulated gene expressions, cytokine, neurotrophin, and stress markers, telomere shortening, and deteriorations in brain connectivity. Although mindfulness practices have been proposed to ameliorate these biological changes, no empirical studies were conducted. We thus aimed to investigate the effects of mindfulness awareness practice (MAP) to prevent cognitive decline and improve peripheral biomarkers in community-dwelling older adults diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment (MCI).

Methods/design

This was a single-blinded and parallel-group randomized controlled trial with two arms (intervention and active control arms), conducted over nine months. A total of 60 consenting community-dwelling older adults diagnosed with MCI were planned to be randomized in a 1:1 ratio to either the MAP or the Health Education Program (HEP). Interventions were performed weekly for the initial 12 weeks, and monthly for the subsequent six months. Outcome measures were assessed at baseline, 3-month, and 9-month post-intervention by blinded assessors. Primary outcomes were neurocognitive tests, comprehensive peripheral biomarkers, and brain imaging scans. Secondary outcomes included basic health screening measures, affective symptoms, and measures of physical functions. Linear-mixed models were used to examine the effects of MAP on these outcome measures.

Significance

This is the first randomized controlled trial to systematically investigate the effects of a mindfulness intervention in improving cognitive functions and various biomarkers in community-dwelling older adults diagnosed with MCI. Our findings have the potential to inform mindfulness intervention as a novel approach to delay dementia.

SUBMITTER: Ng TKS

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8508350 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:ObjectivesIn this preliminary and multidisciplinary exploratory study, we assessed whether a mindfulness practice could be enhanced through a multisensory experience design that mimics the "beginner's mind," relying on sensory awareness and biofeedback processes as participants interact with the experience.MethodsWe piloted and designed two conditions, being (a) a guided mindfulness practice based on the senses as an anchor to the present moment, using audio instruction only; and (b) an experience of mindfulness practice with successive sensory stimulation (olfactory, audio, and visual stimulation) followed by an interactive experience with biofeedback that provides a visual representation of the person's heartbeat in real-time. For each of the conditions we assessed anxiety (state and trait), as well as other psychological variables pre- and post-experience. Additionally, we measured the heart rate variability (HRV) at baseline, during each stage of the experience as well as post intervention.ResultsWe collected valid data for a total of 68 individuals. Both groups were similar regarding mean age, sex, and occupation and had similar prior experience with mindfulness. There were no significant differences regarding prior state or trait anxiety between the groups. Analysis of the physiological variables showed that for both groups there was an increase in the parasympathetic activity after the multisensory experience, with small differences in the conditions of stimulation. We did not observe significant differences between the pre and post measures for state of test anxiety. The observed parasympathetic activity variations after both experiences compared with pre and post-surveys demonstrate the importance of physiological vs psychological inspection beyond the common human rational experience that is not always resonate with the body's response and impacts the needed literacy to self-awareness of emotional well-being.ConclusionParticipants in both conditions could effectively connect with the experience, while achieving a physiological response different from their baseline state. The acceptance of the designed stimuli was very high, although more research is still needed to uncover its full potential. In sum, the design of multisensory experiences using technology to create an interactive connection with the sensory stimulus, is a promising field in mindfulness and especially in practices involving sensory awareness through the monitoring of parasympathetic activity as an inference indicator of the present-moment connection.