Abstract
OBJECTIVES: To examine whether leisure activities can alleviate depressive symptoms among nursing home residents with very mild to mild dementia.
METHODS: A cluster-randomized open-label controlled design. Thirty-six residents with at least moderate depressive symptoms were randomized by home into three conditions-mahjong (a.k.a. mah-jongg), tai chi, and handicrafts (placebo). Activities were conducted three times weekly for 12 weeks. Outcome measure was Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) administered at baseline, posttreatment, and at 6 months. RESULTS: Repeated-measures analysis of variance showed a group by time interaction on the GDS. Unlike control and tai chi participants whose scores remained relatively unchanged, the mahjong group reported a drop of 3.25 points (95% confidence interval: 1.00-5.50) on the GDS at posttreatment but gained back 2.83 points (95% confidence interval: 1.95-5.47) at 6 months. Activity discontinuation might be the reason for depression to return to baseline.
CONCLUSIONS: Mahjong can lower depressive symptoms in those with mild dementia, but activity maintenance may be essential for long-term effects.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 904-908 |
| Number of pages | 5 |
| Journal | American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry |
| Volume | 20 |
| Issue number | 10 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Oct 2012 |
Bibliographical note
The authors thank William Tsang for making the sitting Yang-style tai chi available for the study, the nursing homes for assistance in data collection, and Isabella Chan for outstanding efforts in collecting biological data. They also thank Kee-Lee Chou, Tatia Lee, and You-Qiang Song for their contributions to the initial conceptualization of the study.Funding
This study was supported by Competitive Earmarked Research grant no. HKIEd141307 of the Research Grants Council of Hong Kong to Sheung-Tak Cheng.