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Tailored Mediterranean Lifestyle Education in Patients With Mild Cognitive Impairment

Not Applicable
Completed
Conditions
Mild Cognitive Impairment
Interventions
Behavioral: "ThinkMed" resource (staged)
Behavioral: Standard Care Control
Behavioral: "ThinkMed" resource at baseline
Registration Number
NCT03265522
Lead Sponsor
Queen's University, Belfast
Brief Summary

Evidence suggests that a Mediterranean diet can have a beneficial effect on brain health. Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) describes problems with brain function such as difficulty with day-to-day memory and concentration. It is at this stage that Mediterranean diet could prove beneficial in terms of prevention.

Previous research by Queens University investigated the opinions of patients with MCI and their care givers to inform the development of Mediterranean diet education material to encourage behaviour change. The study suggested that MCI patients lacked awareness of the link between Mediterranean diet and brain function, although were interested to learn more. Feedback on the developed educational material was positive although there were suggested improvements such as tailoring information to memory loss, a potential staged approach to delivery and adaptations to the material content.

This present study aims to pilot test refined educational material among MCI participants to evaluate the feasibility of encouraging dietary behaviour change among this patient group.

Detailed Description

This study aims to evaluate the feasibility of a theory-based, tailored Mediterranean lifestyle education intervention to encourage behaviour change in patients with MCI. The proposed study will be a 6 month RCT with a total of 60 MCI patients who will be randomised to 1 of 3 groups:

1. Group 1 will receive the Mediterranean lifestyle education resource on one occasion at baseline

2. Group 2 will receive the Mediterranean lifestyle education resource at monthly intervals for 5 months accompanied by telephone feedback from the research dietitian

3. Group 3 will receive standard care (control group). Participants will receive the Mediterranean lifestyle education resource after their final 6 month study visit (i.e. delayed intervention).

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
COMPLETED
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
15
Inclusion Criteria

Not provided

Exclusion Criteria
  • Diagnosis of dementia
  • Patients with visual or English language impairment
  • Psychiatric problems
  • Significant medical comorbidity
  • Body Mass Index (BMI) ≤ 19 and ≥ 40 kg/m2
  • Excessive alcohol consumption
  • Taking high dose nutritional supplements
  • Dietary restrictions/allergies that would substantially limit ability to complete study requirements
  • Inability to provide informed consent
  • History of, or comorbid condition which may alter performance on cognitive tests e.g. stroke, head injury, Parkinson's disease, learning disability

Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
PARALLEL
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
Group 2: "ThinkMed" resource (staged)"ThinkMed" resource (staged)This group of participants will receive the "ThinkMed" resource at monthly intervals for 5 months accompanied by telephone feedback from the research dietitian (n=20)
Group 3: Standard Care (control) groupStandard Care ControlParticipants will continue with the standard care provided by their physician. Participants will receive the "ThinkMed" resource after their final 6 month study visit (i.e. delayed intervention) (n=20)
Group 1: "ThinkMed" resource at baseline"ThinkMed" resource at baselineThe "ThinkMed" resource contains an information booklet, recipe books, menu plan cards, shopping list cards and goal setting cards. Participants will receive this resource on one occasion at baseline (n=20)
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Change in Mediterranean Diet Score (MDS) at 6 monthsBaseline, 6 months

Mediterranean dietary intake will be measured by a validated questionnaire

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Muscle StrengthBaseline, 6 months

Measured using a grip-strength dynamometer

Geriatric Depression ScaleBaseline, 6 months

Geriatric Depression Scale Questionnaire

Barriers to consuming a Mediterranean Diet questionnaireBaseline, 6 months

Dietary behaviour change questionnaire to measure adherence to a Mediterranean diet

4-day Food DiaryBaseline, 6 months

A food diary will be completed to assess compliance with a Mediterranean diet

Mediterranean diet tolerance questionnaireBaseline, 6 months

A questionnaire to measure tolerance to a Mediterranean diet

Functional Assessment (1)Baseline, 6 months

Measured by the instrumental activities of daily living scale (IADL) by Lawton and Brody (1969) questionnaire

Blood SampleBaseline, 6 months

A blood sample will be taken from participants to be stored for analysis of biomarkers of MD adherence and biomarkers of neurodegenerative disease risk.

Functional Assessment (2)Baseline, 6 months

Measured by the Bristol activities of daily living scale (Bucks et al. 1996) questionnaire

Rand SF-36 HEALTH SURVEYBaseline, 6 months

A questionnaire to measure participants views and beliefs on health

Physical ActivityBaseline, 6 months

RPAQ-Recent Physical Activity Questionnaire

Anthropometric measurementsBaseline, 6 months

Weight and height measurements to calculate BMI

Cognitive AssessmentBaseline, 6 months

A comprehensive cognitive assessment will be performed, including: global cognition, motor skills, executive function episodic/visual memory, and information processing and sustained attention using a validated neuropsychological test battery (Cantab Cognitive Battery, Cambridge Cognition Ltd.)

Change in Lifestyle questionnaireBaseline, 6 months

A questionnaire to measure change in lifestyle behaviours

Mediterranean Diet self-efficacy questionnaireBaseline, 6 months

A questionnaire to measure participants self-efficacy

Dietary Quality of Life questionnaireBaseline, 6 months

A questionnaire to measure dietary quality of life

Mediterranean Diet Knowledge questionnaireBaseline, 6 months

A questionnaire to measure participants Mediterranean diet knowledge

Staging Algorithm QuestionnaireBaseline, 6 months

A questionnaire to measure participants readiness to change their diet and lifestyle

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Belfast Health and Social Care Trust

🇬🇧

Belfast, United Kingdom

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