Efficacy of a mobile based multidomain intervention to improve cognitive functions and health related outcomes among Korean older adults with a high risk of dementia

Abstract

AbstractBackgroundSubjective cognitive decline is a self‐reported experience of declining cognitive function showing normal performance in cognitive assessments, which is a known risk factor for dementia. Recent studies highlight the importance of nonpharmacological multidomain interventions that can target multiple risk factors of dementia in older adults. We investigated the efficacy of the Silvia program, a mobile‐based multidomain intervention, to improve cognitive function and health‐related outcomes of older adults with a high risk of dementia. Additionally, we compared its effects to a conventional paper‐based multidomain program on various health indicators related to risk factors of dementia.MethodThis prospective randomized controlled trial involved 77 older adults with a high risk of dementia recruited from the Dementia Prevention and Management Center in Gwangju, South Korea during May to October 2022. Participants were randomly assigned to either the mobile‐ or paper‐based group. Interventions were administered for 12 weeks, where pre‐ and post‐assessments were conducted.ResultThe Korean version of the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological status (K‐RBANS) total score did not show significant differences between groups. The mobile group showed better improvement in K‐PRMQ scores and PSS scores than the paper group. Differences within groups showed that mobile‐based interventions significantly improved the Korean version of the prospective and retrospective memory questionnaire (K‐PRMQ), State‐Trait Anxiety Inventory‐X‐1 (STAI‐X‐1), Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), and e EuroQoL 5‐Dimension 5‐Level (EQ‐5D‐5L) scores, while paper‐based interventions significantly improved PSS, and EQ‐5D‐5L scores.ConclusionThe Silvia program was more effective than paper‐based intervention in improving self‐reported memory failures, stress, anxiety, and health‐related quality of life. However, longer periods of administration for more than 12 weeks may be needed to achieve significant improvements in cognitive function by objective measures