Comparative Effectiveness of Behavioral Interventions to Prevent or Delay Dementia: One-Year Partner Outcomes

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Neuroscience
• Psychology

Background:

• Caregivers of individuals with cognitive decline experience significant distress.
• The comparative effectiveness of various behavioral interventions for these caregivers is not well understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the effectiveness of different behavioral intervention components for care partners of persons with mild cognitive impairment (pwMCI).
• To identify which intervention components are most crucial for improving caregiver outcomes.

Main Methods:

• A comparative intervention study involving 272 dyads of pwMCI and care partners.
• Five intervention components (memory compensation, cognitive training, yoga, support group, wellness education) were tested, with some participants having components withheld.
• Longitudinal mixed-effect regression models analyzed outcomes at 12 months.

Main Results:

• Withholding wellness education or yoga negatively impacted partner anxiety (ES=0.55, 0.44).
• Withholding yoga also showed a trend towards increased partner burden and negative mood (ES=0.32, 0.36).

Conclusions:

• Wellness education and yoga are beneficial for improving care partner burden, mood, and anxiety.
• This study provides novel insights into the impact of multicomponent interventions for caregivers of pwMCI.