Mindfulness-based stress reduction and exercise do not improve cognitive performance: JAMA

Exercise, mindfulness training, or combined had no discernible effects on improvements in episodic memory or executive function in older persons with subjective cognitive issues after six months, says an article published in the Journal of American Medical Association.

Essential components of cognitive performance that suffer from ageing include episodic memory and executive function. With lifestyle changes, this decline might be reversed. In order to find out whether mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), exercise, or a combination of the two improves cognitive performance in older persons, Eric Lenze and team carried out this study.

This randomized, two-by-two factorial clinical experiment was place at two US locations. 585 older people (aged 65 to 84) with subjective cognitive issues but no dementia were randomly assigned to one of two groups (enrollment from November 19, 2015, to January 23, 2019; final follow-up on March 16, 2020). The following interventions were offered to participants in a random order: MBSR, with a daily meditation goal of 60 minutes (n = 150); exercise, with a weekly goal of at least 300 minutes (n = 138); combined MBSR and exercise (n = 144); or a health education control group (n = 153). The interventions, which lasted 18 months, included group lessons and at-home practice.

The key findings of the study were:

1. 568 (97.1%) of the 585 randomly assigned individuals finished the trial's first six months, while 475 (81.2%) finished it in the full 18 months.

2. Exercise or mindfulness training had no discernible impact on episodic memory or executive function at 6 months, and there were no treatment effects at the secondary end point of 18 months either.

3. At six months, there was no significant interaction between exercise and mindfulness training (P =.93 for memory and P =.29 for executive function).

4. None of the five secondary outcomes that were predetermined showed a significant difference with either strategy compared to those who did not get it.

Reference: 

Lenze, E. J., Voegtle, M., Miller, J. P., Ances, B. M., Balota, D. A., Barch, D., Depp, C. A., Diniz, B. S., Eyler, L. T., Foster, E. R., Gettinger, T. R., Head, D., Patterson, B. W., Rodebaugh, T. L., … Wetherell, J. L. (2022). Effects of Mindfulness Training and Exercise on Cognitive Function in Older Adults. In JAMA (Vol. 328, Issue 22, p. 2218). American Medical Association (AMA). https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2022.21680