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Effects of Meditation Training and Non-Native Language Training on Cognition in Older Adults: A Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Clinical Trial

Demnitz-King, Harriet; Requier, Florence; Whitfield, Tim; Schlosser, Marco; Gonneaud, Julie; Ware, Caitlin; Barnhofer, Thorsten; ... Medit-Ageing Research Group; + view all (2023) Effects of Meditation Training and Non-Native Language Training on Cognition in Older Adults: A Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Clinical Trial. Jama Network Open , 6 (7) , Article e2317848. 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.17848. Green open access

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Abstract

IMPORTANCE: Nonpharmacological interventions are a potential strategy to maintain or promote cognitive functioning in older adults. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of 18 months' meditation training and 18 months' non-native language training on cognition in older adults. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This study was a secondary analysis of the Age-Well trial, an 18-month, observer-masked, randomized clinical trial with 3 parallel arms. Eligible participants were community-dwelling adults aged 65 years and older residing in Caen, France. Participants were enrolled from November 24, 2016, to March 5, 2018, and randomly assigned (1:1:1) to meditation training, non-native language (English) training, or no intervention arms. Final follow-up was completed on February 6, 2020. Data were analyzed between December 2021 and November 2022. INTERVENTIONS: The 18-month meditation and non-native language training interventions were structurally equivalent and included 2-hour weekly group sessions, daily home practice of 20 minutes or longer, and 1 day of more intensive home practice. The no intervention group was instructed not to change their habits and to continue living as usual. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Cognition (a prespecified secondary outcome of the Age-Well trial) was assessed preintervention and postintervention via the Preclinical Alzheimer Cognitive Composite 5 (PACC5), and composites assessing episodic memory, executive function, and attention. RESULTS: Among 137 randomized participants, 2 were excluded for not meeting eligibility criteria, leaving 135 (mean [SD] age, 69.3 [3.8] years; 83 female [61%]) eligible for analysis. One participant among the remaining 135 did not complete the trial. In adjusted mixed effects models, no interaction effects were observed between visit and group for PACC5 (F2,131.39 = 2.58; P = .08), episodic memory (F2,131.60 = 2.34; P = .10), executive function (F2,131.26 = 0.89; P = .41), or attention (F2,131.20 = 0.34; P = .79). Results remained substantively unchanged across sensitivity and exploratory analyses. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: In this secondary analysis of an 18-month randomized trial, meditation and non-native language training did not confer salutary cognitive effects. Although further analyses are needed to explore the effects of these interventions on other relevant outcomes related to aging and well-being, these findings did not support the use of these interventions for enhancing cognition in cognitively healthy older adults. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02977819.

Type: Article
Title: Effects of Meditation Training and Non-Native Language Training on Cognition in Older Adults: A Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Clinical Trial
Location: United States
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.17848
Publisher version: http://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.17848
Language: English
Additional information: This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the CC-BY License. © 2023 Demnitz-King H et al. JAMA Network Open.
Keywords: Humans, Female, Aged, Meditation, Language Therapy, Cognition, Executive Function, Memory, Episodic
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Division of Psychiatry
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Division of Psychiatry > Mental Health of Older People
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10174258
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