Health Education and Lifestyle Training in Older Adults

Not Applicable

Completed

• Conditions: Older Adults
• Interventions: Behavioral: Lifestyle Education; Behavioral: Mindfulness-Based Attention Training

• Registration Number: NCT03432754
• Lead Sponsor: Ohio State University

Brief Summary

The investigators conducted a mindfulness training intervention in older adults aimed at examining the effects of brief mindfulness training on mind wandering as well as the cognitive and affective functioning of older adults. Individuals completed pre- and post-assessments of mind wandering and cognitive functioning. Additionally, all participants completed neuropsychological measures and self-report questionnaires.

Detailed Description

Age-related differences in sustained attention may be related to the prevalence and content of task unrelated thought or mind-wandering. Older adults report less mind-wandering in sustained tasks than younger adults, something that is surprising due to the reduced performance on tasks. It is clear that both cognitive and emotional processes underlie comprehension and sustained attention and relate to prevalence of task unrelated thought and performance. A complex process such as reading comprehension presents a challenge for improvement because of the wide range of changes that occur with age. Pharmacological therapies can target only a limited number of the many changes believed to underlie functional decline. One way that may mitigate these declines in performance in a broad way is mindfulness training. Thus, the investigators conducted a randomized study to assess the effects of mindfulness training relative to an active health education control group on mind wandering and controlled processing abilities in older adults. All individuals that contact the Clinical Neuroscience Laboratory (CNLab) with interest underwent a phone screening assessing inclusion/exclusion criteria.Those participants meeting I/E criteria were invited to participate in the study. During the first assessment session, written informed consent was obtained; additional inclusion/exclusion measures were administered; and self-report questionnaires and assessment measures were completed. Following the first assessment session, four training sessions took place. Participants were randomized into either the a mindfulness training intervention or a health education intervention. Subsequently, all participants were invited back for post-assessment session.

Basic Information
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Recruitment & Eligibility
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Study & Design

Study Timeline

• Study Start: 2014-10-20
• Primary Completion: 2015-04-29
• Study Completion: 2015-04-29
• Status Verified: 2018-02
• Study First Submitted: 2018-02-07
• Study First Submitted QC: 2018-02-12
• Last Update Submitted: 2018-02-12
• Study First Posted: 2018-02-14
• Last Update Posted: 2018-02-14

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: COMPLETED
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 74

Inclusion Criteria

• 60 to 74 years of age
• No prior exposure to mindfulness training
• No significant meditation experience
• Have never engaged in regular practices of yoga
• Capable of attending both assessment and training sessions
• Corrected (near and far) visual acuity of 20/40 or better
• Normal color vision
• No self-reported history of psychiatric, neurological, or chronic inflammatory conditions
• Absence of psychiatric medication use
• Native English Speaker
• Adequate performance on the Mini-Mental Status Examination (MMSE; >23)
• Depression score on the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) below clinical level (<10)

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Exclusion Criteria

• Below 60 years of age or above 74 years of age
• Have exposure to or experience with any type of meditation or yoga regularly (one hour a week for at least 12 months)
• Any physical or pragmatic limitation that prohibits attendance at both sessions
• Corrected (near or far) visual acuity worse than 20/40
• All types of color blindness
• Presence of diagnosed neurological disorders (such as: Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease or multiple sclerosis) or chronic inflammatory conditions
• Presence of any diagnosed psychiatric disorder such as depression, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), substance abuse
• Presence of psychiatric medication use such as Xanax, Wellbutrin, or Vivance
• Non-Native English Speaker or no fluency in English
• Inadequate performance on the Mini-Mental Status Examination (MMSE; <23)
• Depression score on GDS indicative of clinical depression (>10)

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Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: PARALLEL

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Lifestyle Education Group	Lifestyle Education	Four weekly group lifestyle education sessions of a 1.5-hour duration. Homework consisting of reading, diet monitoring, stretching/toning exercises, and brainstorming new healthy living techniques/ideas.
Mindfulness-Based Attention Training	Mindfulness-Based Attention Training	Four weekly group mindfulness attention training sessions of a 1.5-hour duration. Participants provided with audio recordings, readings, and homework assignments consisting of various mindfulness practices.

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Change in Global Performance on Computerized Attentional Control Tasks	Baseline and after the 4-week intervention	Signal detection scores on two computerized tasks of attentional control calculated for each task using the formula for logistic distributions: dL = ln{\[H(1-FA)\]/\[(1-H)FA\]}, where H refers to hit rates and FA refers to false alarms.
Change in Mind-Wandering During Attentional Control Tasks	Baseline and after the 4-week intervention	Frequency with which thoughts categorized as evaluating performance or off-task in response to quasi-random mind-wandering probes collected during two computerized tasks of attentional control.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Change in Self-report Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS)	Baseline and after the 4-week intervention	Self-reported current level of dispositional mindfulness assessed using 15-item Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS). Each item is scored from 1-6 and then averaged to get a total score between 1-6 with higher scores reflecting higher levels of dispositional mindfulness.
Change on Self-Report Measure of Emotion Dysregulation	Baseline and after the 4-week intervention	Changes in emotion dysregulation assessed using the 36-item Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS). Each items is scored 1-5 with a total score between 36-180 with a higher score reflecting greater emotion dysregulation.
Change in Local Metrics of Attentional Control During Go/No-Go Task	Baseline and after the 4-week intervention	Changes in reaction time and accuracy preceding mind-wandering probes during one of the attentional control tasks, the Go/No-Go Task.