A Multicomponent Cognitive Intervention May Improve Self-Reported Daily Function of Adults With Subjective Cognitive Decline

Ling-Hui Chang; Yuan Ling Tang; Ming-Jang Chiu; Chien-Te Wu; Hui-Fen Mao

doi:10.5014/ajot.2023.050133

A Multicomponent Cognitive Intervention May Improve Self-Reported Daily Function of Adults With Subjective Cognitive Decline

Am J Occup Ther. 2023 Jul 1;77(4):7704205040. doi: 10.5014/ajot.2023.050133.

Authors

Ling-Hui Chang¹, Yuan Ling Tang², Ming-Jang Chiu³, Chien-Te Wu⁴, Hui-Fen Mao⁵

Affiliations

¹ Ling-Hui Chang, PhD, is Associate Professor, Department of Occupational Therapy, College of Medicine, and Associate Professor, Institute of Allied Health Sciences, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan.
² Yuan-Ling Tang, MS, is Occupational Therapist, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
³ Ming-Jang Chiu, PhD, is Adjunct Professor, Department of Neurology, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, and Distinguished Adjunct Attending Physician, Department of Neurology, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan. At the time of this research, Chiu was Attending Neurologist, Department of Neurology, National Taiwan University Hospital; Professor, Graduate Institute of Brain and Mind Sciences; Professor, Graduate Institute of Psychology; and Professor, Graduate Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Bioinformatics, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.
⁴ Chien-Te Wu, PhD, is Project Associate Professor, International Research Center for Neurointelligence, The University of Tokyo Institutes for Advanced Study, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan. At the time of this research, Wu was Associate Professor, School of Occupational Therapy, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.
⁵ Hui-Fen Mao, MS, is Professor, School of Occupational Therapy, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, and Occupational Therapist, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan; huifen02@gmail.com.

PMID: 37589302
DOI: 10.5014/ajot.2023.050133

Abstract

Importance: Limited evidence exists to support cognitive intervention improving the daily function of adults with subjective cognitive decline (SCD).

Objective: To examine the preliminary efficacy of a group-based multicomponent cognitive intervention that integrates Lifestyle Redesign® (LR) techniques.

Design: Single-arm two-period crossover trial; 16-wk waiting period, 16-wk intervention, and 16-wk follow-up.

Setting: Memory clinic in a medical center, Taiwan.

Participants: Purposive sample of adults ages >55 yr with SCD.

Intervention: Sixteen 1.5-hr weekly multicomponent sessions of cognitive training, cognitive rehabilitation, psychological intervention, and lifestyle intervention.

Outcomes and measures: Primary outcomes were (1) self-reported daily function, measured with the Activities of Daily Living Questionnaire (ADLQ) and Cognitive Failure Questionnaire; (2) performance-based daily function, measured with the Brief University of California San Diego Performance-Based Skills Assessment-Traditional Chinese Version; and (3) functional cognition, measured with the Contextual Memory Test (CMT) and Miami Prospective Memory Test. Secondary outcomes included cognitive functions, anxiety, and depression.

Results: Seventeen participants completed the intervention; 4 missed the follow-up. The generalized estimating equations model showed significant changes from baseline to pretest (control) and pretest to posttest (intervention) on the ADLQ (p = .014) and CMT-delayed (p = .003). Effects remained at the 16-wk follow-up. After adjusting for the effects of covariates, the self-reported daily function of participants ages ≤ 63 yr improved more than that of other participants (p = .003).

Conclusions and relevance: Multicomponent cognitive interventions integrating LR techniques may improve self-reported daily function and context-dependent memory function of adults with SCD, with efficacy sustained at follow-up. What This Article Adds: A group-based multicomponent cognitive intervention consisting of cognitive training, cognitive rehabilitation, psychoeducation, and lifestyle intervention may provide benefits for the daily function and cognitive function of adults with SCD.

MeSH terms

Activities of Daily Living*
Anxiety
Cognition*
Cognitive Dysfunction* / therapy
Cross-Over Studies
Humans
Middle Aged
Self Report
Taiwan