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Alzheimer s Dementia - 2025 - Burley - Health outcomes from a 12‐week healthy body and mind program for people with93.70 kB
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Abstract
Health outcomes from a 12‐week healthy body and mind program for people with osteoarthritis and thinking concerns/dementia: A pilot randomised control trial
Alzheimer's & Dementia, Vol.21(S6), pp.1-2
Alzheimer’s Association International Conference, 2025 (Toronto, Canada, 27-Jul-2025–31-Jul-2025)
2025
Abstract
Background
Osteoarthritis (OA) has been reported in approximately1-in-2 older adults and is associated with a 1.5-fold increase in dementia risk. Half of overall disease burden is due to modifiable factors such as physical activity and lifestyle. Currently no programs exist for people living with OA and thinking concerns/dementia. The aims of this pilot randomised controlled trial (RCT) are to determine whether a 12-week multidisciplinary Healthy Body & Mind Program improves health outcomes in people living with OA and thinking concerns/dementia.
Method
Eighteen consenting participants with OA and thinking concerns/dementia (mean age=71.5±5.7years; mean telephone Montreal Cognitive Assessment [MoCA]=18.9±2.1) were randomly allocated to the 12-week program or usual medical care (wait-list control). Outcome measures included quality of life (QoL) [SF-36], pain (Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index [WOMAC]), cognition (MoCA and Cambridge Cognition multitasking test [MTT], spatial working memory [SWM] and paired associated learning [PAL]) and psychological health (Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale [DASS-21]). Data were analysed using ANOVAs (intervention/control) and paired t-tests (baseline/follow-up). Cognition data were available for baseline/follow-up only.
Results
Repeated measures ANOVAs revealed significant time by group interactions for overall pain (p = .034;η2=0.348) and QoL scores (p = .025;η2=0.380), where outcomes improved for the intervention group (N = 9) and worsened for the control group (N = 4). Significant interactions were also observed for the QoL subscales emotional (p = .036;η2=0.342), social (p < .001;η2=0.645), and general health (p = .046;η2=0.046). No significant differences were observed for psychological health measures. A clinically meaningful improvement was observed in overall cognition (mean MoCA increased by 1.2 points). T-tests revealed significant improvements in the MTT (including number of incongruent errors (p = .03;d=0.84), mean reaction latency on congruent trials (p = 0.008;d=17.07) and incongruent trials (p = .01;d=5.14), mean multitasking cost (p = 0.009;d=1.80), total correct responses (p = .01;d=3.39) and total errors (p <0.005;d=1.57). No significant differences were observed for SWM or PAL.
Conclusion
In this pilot 12-week RCT, the Healthy Body & Mind Program improved pain, QoL, and cognition in people living with OA and thinking concerns or dementia. Future research should scale-up and deliver this program to larger populations to identify if such programs have the potential to improve public health and reduce dementia risk at a national level.
Details
- Title
- Health outcomes from a 12‐week healthy body and mind program for people with osteoarthritis and thinking concerns/dementia: A pilot randomised control trial
- Authors
- Claire V Burley (Corresponding Author) - UNSW SydneyMatthew D Jones - UNSW SydneyNattai Borges - UNSW SydneyHenry Brodaty - UNSW SydneyBelinda J Parmenter - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Health - Sports & Exercise Science
- Publication details
- Alzheimer's & Dementia, Vol.21(S6), pp.1-2
- Conference details
- Alzheimer’s Association International Conference, 2025 (Toronto, Canada, 27-Jul-2025–31-Jul-2025)
- Publisher
- John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
- Date published
- 2025
- DOI
- 10.1002/alz70860_101878
- ISSN
- 1552-5279; 1552-5260
- Copyright note
- © 2025 The Alzheimer's Association. Alzheimer's & Dementia published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Alzheimer's Association. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
- Organisation Unit
- School of Health - Sports & Exercise Science
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 991200750602621
- Output Type
- Abstract
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