Effects of a mindfulness-based intervention and a health self-management programme on psychological well-being in older adults with subjective cognitive decline: Secondary analyses from the SCD-Well randomised clinical trial.
Marco Schlosser, Harriet Demnitz-King, Thorsten Barnhofer, Fabienne Collette, Julie Gonneaud, Gaël Chételat, Frank Jessen, Matthias Kliegel, Olga M Klimecki, Antoine Lutz, Natalie L Marchant, Medit-Ageing Research Group
Author Information
Marco Schlosser: Department of Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland. ORCID
Harriet Demnitz-King: Division of Psychiatry, Faculty of Brain Sciences, University College London, London, United Kingdom. ORCID
Thorsten Barnhofer: School of Psychology, University of Surrey, Surrey, United Kingdom.
Fabienne Collette: GIGA-CRC In Vivo Imaging, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium. ORCID
Julie Gonneaud: Normandie Univ, UNICAEN, INSERM, U1237, PhIND "Physiopathology and Imaging of Neurological Disorders", Institut Blood and Brain @ Caen-Normandie, Cyceron, Caen, France.
Gaël Chételat: Normandie Univ, UNICAEN, INSERM, U1237, PhIND "Physiopathology and Imaging of Neurological Disorders", Institut Blood and Brain @ Caen-Normandie, Cyceron, Caen, France.
Frank Jessen: Department of Psychiatry, Medical Faculty, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
Matthias Kliegel: Department of Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.
Olga M Klimecki: Swiss Center for Affective Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.
Antoine Lutz: Eduwell team, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center Inserm U1028, CNRS UMR5292, Lyon 1 University, Lyon, France. ORCID
Natalie L Marchant: Division of Psychiatry, Faculty of Brain Sciences, University College London, London, United Kingdom. ORCID
OBJECTIVES: Older adults with subjective cognitive decline (SCD) recruited from memory clinics have an increased risk of developing dementia and regularly experience reduced psychological well-being related to memory concerns and fear of dementia. Research on improving well-being in SCD is limited and lacks non-pharmacological approaches. We investigated whether mindfulness-based and health education interventions can enhance well-being in SCD. METHODS: The SCD-Well trial (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT03005652) randomised 147 older adults with SCD to an 8-week caring mindfulness-based approach for seniors (CMBAS) or an active comparator (health self-management programme [HSMP]). Well-being was assessed at baseline, post-intervention, and 6-month post-randomisation using the Psychological Well-being Scale (PWBS), the World Health Organisation's Quality of Life (QoL) Assessment psychological subscale, and composites capturing meditation-based well-being dimensions of awareness, connection, and insight. Mixed effects models were used to assess between- and within-group differences in change. RESULTS: CMBAS was superior to HSMP on changes in connection at post-intervention. Within both groups, PWBS total scores, psychological QoL, and composite scores did not increase. Exploratory analyses indicated increases in PWBS autonomy at post-intervention in both groups. CONCLUSION: Two non-pharmacological interventions were associated with only limited effects on psychological well-being in SCD. Longer intervention studies with waitlist/retest control groups are needed to assess if our findings reflect intervention brevity and/or minimal base rate changes in well-being.
