Cognitive interventions and performance measures: a longitudinal study in elderly women

Abstract

Several types of cognitive interventions have been performed with elderly individuals to verify physical and quality of life benefits. The objective of this study was to verify if the cognitive gains found in two cognitive intervention programs are related to changes in the mood, quality of life and physical fitness variables (maximum oxygen consumption, lean mass, fat percentage and handgrip strength). A total of 39 elderly women from the Distrito Federal (Brazil), participating in a cognitive training group based on mnemonic strategies and a group of cognitive stimulation based on perceptual and attention exercises. Both groups showed a tendency to reduce depressive symptoms, an increase in their fat mass and a decrease in their lean mass. Taken together, these findings may contribute to identify the directionality of mnemonic interventions in Brazilian elderly individuals regarding the subjective and physical performance variables.

Cognitive interventions in mature and older adults, benefits for psychological well-being and quality of life: a systematic review study

“…The approach entailed analysis of several instruments and aspects associated with definitions of QoL and psychological well-being. 7,21 Cognitive type interventions employ a range of different approaches: olfactory training, 22 cognitive training using electronic devices, such as computers or tablets, 13,[23][24][25][26] training using musical instruments, 10 training through manual interventions, 27 training using categorization strategies, 28 and multifactorial training, 14,15,25,[29][30][31][32] which proved the most predominant approach (7/15 cognitive intervention studies).…”

“…By contrast, three studies failed to achieve significant results for QoL or psychological well-being post-intervention. 15 , 16 , 26 Buitenweg et al 26 concluded that a possible explanation for nonsignificant effects in the sample investigated might lie in the fact that the elderly participants had high cognitive performance and low depression symptoms preintervention.…”

“…The absence of literature reviews on the effects of cognitive and educational interventions on subjective well-being, mood, and QoL of mature and elderly adults limits the possibility of gathering evidence that confirms or contradicts the results found in this study. However, clinical studies of cognitive training and cognitive stimulation have directed their results toward gains in terms of QoL and reduction of depressive symptoms, [14][15][16] while studies of educational intervention have identified improvements in subjective well-being. 17,18 In face of the explicit sociodemographic changes that take place in the course of the human existential trajectory, there is an increase in diseases involving mental health, particularly in the elderly population.…”