Clinical trial NCT03417635: Meditation Strategies, Attention, and Mobility in Older Adults
Official title: Meditation Strategies, Attention, and Mobility in Older Adults
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: NA
Conditions: Mobility Limitation
Keywords: Meditation
Cognitive assessment
Executive function
Older adults
Randomized control trial
Mobility
Lead sponsor: Western University, Canada
Sponsor class: OTHER
First posted: 2018-01-31
Enrollment: 43
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 60
Standard ages: ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Primary purpose: TREATMENT

Brief summary: Approximately 30% of community-dwelling older adults experience one or more falls per year, resulting in injuries, loss of independence, and reduced quality of life. While there are known physiological risk factors for falls, including poor balance and altered gait patterns, it is now recognized that impaired cognitive functioning is also a risk factor for falls. Within the broad construct of cognition, one specific domain that has been focused on in the falls literature is attention. The literature suggests that improving attention in those at-risk for falls may reduce older adult's risk of falling.

Detailed description: The current study aims to investigate the impact of meditation strategies on measures of attention and electrical signals in the brain in older adults. Investigators will recruit older adults who are living in the community. Participants will be assigned to one of two groups: 1) guided focused attention group, or 2) music group (control group). All participants will complete three in-person sessions per week and then be encouraged to practice independently on the other days in the week, for a total of four weeks.The current study focuses on focused attention meditation strategies, as it is recommended for beginner-level meditators. This will include training to be able to focus on one's breathing for 20 minute sessions. Focused attention meditation has been found to increase levels of executive functioning and attention. Participants will complete mobility and cognitive assessments at both the beginning and end of the intervention. These will be completed in the retirement homes for convenience. Participants will also attend an in-lab session to complete electroencephalogram (EEG) testing at both timepoints.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

1. minimum 60 years of age,
2. minimum completed high school,
3. must be comfortable writing and reading English,
4. be able to walk independently,
5. must be right-handed (for EEG analysis),
6. score 6+/8 on the instrumental activities of daily living scale,
7. score \>24/30 on the Mini-Mental Status examination.

Exclusion Criteria:

To be included, participants must NOT:

1. have a diagnosis of neurodegenerative disease,
2. have a diagnosis of cognitive impairment (e.g., MCI),
3. have a diagnosis of a psychiatric condition,
4. have had a concussion in the last 12 months,
5. have had a stroke,
6. have musculoskeletal or joint disease,
7. experience dizziness or loss of balance,
8. have visual, auditory, or somatosensory impairment, or
9. a recent history (past 2 years) of regular meditation practice (1 or more times per week) or include a meditation component in their religious practice.

Primary outcomes:
measure: Change in sustained attention
timeFrame: 4 weeks
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Change in global attention
timeFrame: 4 weeks
measure: Change in mobility
timeFrame: 4 weeks
measure: Change in mobility and balance
timeFrame: 4 weeks
measure: Change in memory
timeFrame: 4 weeks
measure: Change in conflict resolution
timeFrame: 4 weeks
measure: Change in set-shifting
timeFrame: 4 weeks
measure: Change in working memory
timeFrame: 4 weeks
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: London
country: Canada
facility: Community
state: Ontario
Study officials:
affiliation: Western University
name: Lindsay S Nagamatsu, PhD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References:
citation: Martin K, Thomson R, Blizzard L, Wood A, Garry M, Srikanth V. Visuospatial ability and memory are associated with falls risk in older people: a population-based study. Dement Geriatr Cogn Disord. 2009;27(5):451-7. doi: 10.1159/000216840. Epub 2009 May 7.
citation: Nagamatsu LS, Liu-Ambrose TY, Carolan P, Handy TC. Are impairments in visual-spatial attention a critical factor for increased falls risk in seniors? An event-related potential study. Neuropsychologia. 2009 Nov;47(13):2749-55. doi: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2009.05.022. Epub 2009 Jun 6.
citation: Nagamatsu LS, Munkacsy M, Liu-Ambrose T, Handy TC. Altered visual-spatial attention to task-irrelevant information is associated with falls risk in older adults. Neuropsychologia. 2013 Dec;51(14):3025-32. doi: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2013.10.002.
citation: Wallace, B. A. (2006). The attention revolution: Unlocking the power of the focused mind. Somerville, Massachusetts: Wisdom Publications, Inc.
citation: Ainsworth B, Eddershaw R, Meron D, Baldwin DS, Garner M. The effect of focused attention and open monitoring meditation on attention network function in healthy volunteers. Psychiatry Res. 2013 Dec 30;210(3):1226-31. doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2013.09.002. Epub 2013 Oct 14.
citation: Tsai MH, Chou WL. Attentional orienting and executive control are affected by different types of meditation practice. Conscious Cogn. 2016 Nov;46:110-126. doi: 10.1016/j.concog.2016.09.020. Epub 2016 Oct 3.
citation: Nagamatsu LS, Ford SD. Can meditation improve attention in older adults? Study protocol for a 4-week proof-of-concept intervention. Pilot Feasibility Stud. 2019 Feb 11;5:22. doi: 10.1186/s40814-019-0413-x. eCollection 2019.