Qualitative Evaluation Informs Understanding of Motor Cognition and Therapies in Older Adults with Mild Cognitive Impairment

Abstract

Background: 10%to 20%of Americans aged 65 and older have mild cognitive impairment (MCI) with 10%progressing to Alzheimer’s disease (AD) each year. Underserved groups, including African Americans (AAs), are among the most vulnerable to MCI and AD. Although evidence continues to amass, the benefits of exercise and movement for AD is still understudied in AD. Objective: Understanding the attitudes, perceptions, and beliefs about motor-cognitive integration and examining the physical activity of a sample of predominantly Black women community members with self-reported memory problems will allow improved recruitment and refinement of multimodal interventions designed to improve motor-cognitive and cognitive function. Methods: We conducted focus groups with older adults who reported subjective memory complaints (n = 15; Black: n = 12, White: n = 3, mean age 71.7±5.8). Results: Findings from thematic analysis showed most participants knew of benefits of exercise. However, most participants reported not getting adequate exercise due to factors such as pain, increased responsibilities, and fears of injury. Despite barriers, participants expressed enthusiasm for multimodal interventions designed to target body and brain health and provided several suggestions to improve or enhance the proposed interventions. Conclusion: Results provide useful insights regarding improving participation among historically under-represented groups in clinical movement-based research. Participants’ discussion focused primarily on the way motor-cognitive integration prevents falls, maintains memory, and provides a social benefit. The reported perceived benefits and limitations of exercise, as this population understands it, can help researchers and physicians better engage the community for lifestyle changes that will support greater motor-cognitive health.

Longitudinal course of cognitive impairment in patients with atopic dermatitis

“…The association of Black/African American race with moderate or severe cognitive dysfunction coincides with previous reports indicating that older Blacks/African Americans may be more vulnerable to mild cognitive impairment. [27] The association of Black/African American race with cognitive impairment may be due to underlying more severe AD. Indeed, previous studies found more persistent and severe AD in Black/African American children.…”

Life-long music and dance relationships inform impressions of music- and dance-based movement therapies in individuals with and without mild cognitive impairment

“…Transcripts were analyzed in NVivo 12 software (Lumivero; Denver, CO). As in Lazris et al, [10], we applied a combined deductive and inductive analysis approach to extract themes and sub-themes from both focus group transcripts. We first organized the major topics pre-defined by the focus group guide (Table 4) into a deductive codebook.…”

“…While no effective therapies currently exist to prevent MCI from progressing to Alzheimer's Disease (AD) [3], movement therapies integrating music and dance offer an effective, non-pharmacological option to offset cognitive decline [4,5]. Such therapies are especially promising, as they couple physical activity with high cognitive engagement to mitigate the declines in motor-cognitive integration that manifest as impaired daily functioning [6][7][8][9][10]. However, stronger methodological rigor is needed to effectively implement these therapies for every individual, thus likely requires additional therapeutic parameters [11].…”