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Yoga training impacts physical function 12 months post intervention for care partners of those with mild cognitive impairment
Author(s) -
Chandler Melanie,
Locke Dona E,
Thomas Colleen S,
Crook Julia E,
GraffRadford Michelle,
Lucas Pauline H,
Phatak Vaishali S,
Smith Glenn E
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
alzheimer's and dementia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.713
H-Index - 118
eISSN - 1552-5279
pISSN - 1552-5260
DOI - 10.1002/alz.045418
Subject(s) - psychological intervention , randomized controlled trial , physical therapy , cognitive training , cognition , intervention (counseling) , medicine , psychology , activities of daily living , fear of falling , gerontology , physical medicine and rehabilitation , nursing , poison control , psychiatry , injury prevention , environmental health , surgery
Abstract Background The American Academy of Neurology Practice Guidelines recommends physical exercise to help maintain cognition in people with Mild Cognitive Impairment (pwMCI). We previously demonstrated yoga’s benefit in maintenance of memory related activities of daily living at one year follow‐up in pwMCI (Chandler et al., 2019), and yoga may be beneficial in offsetting a sense of burden in care partners at 12 months (Amofa et al., submitted). In this analysis, we sought to examine the impact of yoga training on physical performance in pwMCI and their care partners. Method In this multisite, randomized clinical trial, we enrolled 272 patients meeting National Institute on Aging–Alzheimer’s Association criteria for MCI and a care partner. The intervention program was modeled on the 10 day Mayo Clinic HABIT Healthy Action to Benefit Independence and Thinking ® program. Of 5 possible interventions (memory compensation training, computerized cognitive training, yoga, patient and partner support groups, and wellness education), 1 of 5 interventions was randomly selected to be withheld for each intervention group, thus allowing us to examine comparative effectiveness. Participants and their partners had 1‐day booster sessions at 6 and 12 months after intervention. The Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB), a measure of balance, gait speed, and repeated chair stands was used to assess physical function outcomes. Result There was a general pattern of physical decline on the SPPB over the year in pwMCI, regardless of yoga training (d=‐0.04, p=0.78) (Figure 1, Panel A). Among care partners, those randomized to the no yoga group had a worse decline in physical function compared to those receiving yoga (d=‐0.31, p=0.034) (Figure 1, Panel B). While not reaching statistical significance in subgroup comparisons, yoga training tended to have a greater effect on SPPB than computerized cognitive training (d = 0.35, p = .06) or wellness education (d = 0.32, p =.09) (Table 1). Conclusion Participation in yoga had a positive impact on physical performance outcomes at one year for care partners, but did not counteract general physical decline in pwMCI.