MINDFULNESS-BASED INTERVENTION PREVENTS MEMORY DECLINE AND IMPROVES MOOD AND QUALITY OF LIFE IN OLDER ADULTS WITH MILD COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT: PRELIMINARY FINDINGS

In the last decade, new pharmacological treatments for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) failed to offer effective, long-lasting solutions, which stimulated the development of prophylactic approaches. Mindfulness-Based Interventions (MBI) promote the strengthening of attention and a non-reactive attitude through mindfulness meditation and philosophy. Such holistic methods show great potential against pathological aging that could lead to AD. The aim of this study was to test the efficacy of a MBI in targeting memory decline, depression, and quality of life, compared to an active control condition, in older adults with mild cognitive impairments (MCI). In this single-blind randomized controlled trial, older adults with MCI were assigned to a 8-week MBI (n=11) or control (CTRL; n=11) condition, which provided psychoeducation about memory and aging. Pré- and post- intervention, all participants were administered a verbal free-recall memory test, the Geriatric depression scale, and the WHO Quality of life BRIEF and OLD scales. Longitudinal mixed model analyses were conducted to compare the evolution of measurements in both conditions. Effect sizes (Cohen’s d) were calculated and an intent-to-treat paradigm was used with an alpha of 5%. Participants, of which 36.4% were women, were aged between 56 and 87 (mean=71.6, SD=7.6), with a mean education level of 13.6 years (SD=2.8). Ten participants in each condition completed the study. T-tests or khi-square analyses showed that there was no baseline difference between groups in terms of age (p=0.170), education level (p=0.456), and gender (p=0.225). Compared to the control group, the MBI group showed less objective memory deterioration pré- and post- intervention (MBI=-0,02% p=0.944, CTRL=-3,2% p=0.285; d=0,99), a greater decrease in the number of depressive symptoms (MBI=-3,3% p=0.297, CTRL=-1,6% p=0.634; d=0,43), and increased quality of life (MBI=+1,9% p=0.200, CTRL=+0,0% p=0.756; d=1,57). These preliminary findings indicate that MBI can help preventing memory decline and improving mood and quality of life in older adults with MCI. Moderate and large effect sizes obtained for all variables support the effectiveness of MBI in buffering against pathological aging.