Health Education and Lifestyle Training in Older Adults
Condition: Older Adults
Study type: Interventional

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.
    

Intervention name(s): Mindfulness-Based Attention Training; Lifestyle Education
Intervention type(s): Behavioral; Behavioral
Intervention description(s): The mindfulness-based attention training is closely modeled after the traditional mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) protocol, it incorporates formal MBSR practices such as breath exercises, body scans and long sitting meditations. Specifically, MBAT is an abbreviated version of MBSR with a focus on the cognitive components.; The control group, which will be used to compare the effects of mindfulness training on emotional and cognitive functioning and mind wandering in older adults, will comprise of scientific health and lifestyle information. Lectures will be focused on concepts presented in the book "The Culprit and the Cure: Why lifestyle is the culprit behind America's poor health and how transforming that lifestyle can be the cure." Meetings will cover how to begin and maintain a more nutritious diet, classifying healthy choices across food groups, completing stretching/toning exercises, and reviewing homework.
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Intervention model description: This randomized control trial compared a mindfulness-based attention training (MBAT) group with an active control lifestyle education group. A total of 147 individuals underwent eligibility screening over the phone and in-person at an initial assessment session. Of those eligible, 75 participants volunteered to participate and were randomly assigned to groups. However, one of these participants did not complete the first assessment session and was randomized in error. Thus, 74 participants who completed the first assessment session and met all eligibility criteria were randomly assigned to either the MBAT group or the active control group (lifestyle education). Randomization was conducted by a study author using a computerized random number generator program (randomization.com), applying a varying block size of two and four and stratifying participants by gender. A total of 37 participants were allocated to the each of the two groups.
Masking: Double (Participant, Outcomes Assessor)
Primary purpose: Treatment
Keywords: Older adults; Mindfulness; Mind wandering; Health education; Working memory; Cognitive functioning; Emotion regulation; Emotional functioning