Results of the Maintain Your Brain intervention, led by Scientia Professor Henry Brodaty and reported in Nature Medicine journal at the end of January made national and international headlines.
“This intervention is scalable with the potential for population-level roll out that may delay cognitive decline in the general community,” says Prof. Brodaty. “We could essentially reduce worldwide dementia prevalence if this trial were implemented to the wider population.”
A single-blind randomized control trial assessed the Maintain Your Brain internet-based coaching intervention which is designed to prevent cognitive decline over 3 years.
Participants (n=6,104) included Australians aged 55-77 without dementia but with at least two of the major risk factors for dementia. Half of the participants received the intervention (see more details below) while the remaining participants (the control group) received publicly available information.
Cognition scores improved in both the intervention and control groups, but the intervention group demonstrated the greatest improvement. Participants aged 55-65 showed greater benefit than those aged 66-77, similar to recent findings that suggest making changes from mid-life is critical to reducing dementia risk.
The Maintain Your Brain intervention
The intervention covered several of the 14 modifiable risk factors, reported by the Lancet Commission, which account for approximately 45% of the risk of dementia. Participants received personalised coaching in two to four modules depending on their risk factors. The intervention modules were:
Physical activity where participants undertook 300 minutes of moderate intensity exercise or 150 minutes of vigorous intensity exercise per week as well as two days of moderate-vigorous intensity strength training per week, and daily balance training.
Nutrition where participants followed a Mediterranean diet by consuming unprocessed plant foods including vegetables, fruits, legumes, grains, nuts/seeds and extra virgin olive oil, moderate amounts of fish and shellfish, and low intake of meat, dairy, eggs and animal fats.
Brain training where participants undertook three 45-minute sessions each week across the first 10 weeks and then monthly sessions of training. The brain training targeted seven cognitive domains (verbal executive, verbal memory, visual executive, visual memory, visual attention, speed and working memory).
Peace of mind where participants received training via ThisWayUp, a digital mental health program based on the principles of cognitive behavioural therapy aimed at reducing or preventing depression and anxiety.
Some of the changes that led to an improved cognition score included eating a Mediterranean diet with limited meat and dairy, increasing in moderate-vigorous intensity exercises and specific types of computerised brain training.
Researchers also noted significant improvements in aerobic activity, strength training, diet and depression scores.
For more information, visit the Maintain Your Brain project website at the Centre for Health Brain Ageing at the University of New South Wales.
