scholarly journals The effectiveness and safety of serious games in improving cognitive abilities among elderly people with cognitive impairment: A systematic review and meta-analysis (Preprint)

10.2196/34592 ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alaa Abd-alrazaq ◽  
Mohannad Alajlani ◽  
Dari Alhuwail ◽  
Carla T Toro ◽  
Anna Giannicchi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Elderly People ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Serious Games ◽  
Meta Analysis

The effectiveness and safety of serious games in improving cognitive abilities among elderly people with cognitive impairment: A systematic review and meta-analysis (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alaa Abd-alrazaq ◽  
Mohannad Alajlani ◽  
Dari Alhuwail ◽  
Carla T Toro ◽  
Anna Giannicchi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Elderly People ◽  
Cognitive Training ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Serious Games ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Risk Of Bias ◽  
Global Cognition ◽  
Meta Analyses

BACKGROUND Cognitive impairment is a mental disorder that commonly affects elderly people. Serious games, which are games that have a purpose other than entertainment, have been used as a non-pharmacological intervention for improving cognitive abilities. The effectiveness and safety of serious games in improving cognitive abilities have been investigated by several systematic reviews; however, they are limited by design and methodological weaknesses. OBJECTIVE This study aims to assess the effectiveness and safety of serious games in improving cognitive abilities among elderly people with cognitive impairment. METHODS A systematic review of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) was conducted. Eight electronic databases were searched: MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, ACM Digital Library, IEEE Xplore, Scopus, and Google Scholar. We also screened reference lists of the included studies and relevant reviews as well as checked studies citing our included studies. Two reviewers independently carried out the study selection, data extraction, risk of bias assessment, and quality of evidence appraisal. We used a narrative and statistical approach, as appropriate, to synthesize results of the included studies. RESULTS Fifteen studies met the eligibility criteria of 466 citations retrieved. Of those, 14 RCTs were eventually included in meta-analyses. We found that, regardless of their type, serious games are more effective than no intervention (P=0.04) and conventional exercises (P=0.002) in improving global cognition among elderly people with cognitive impairment. Further, a subgroup analysis showed that cognitive training games are more effective than no intervention (P=0.05) and conventional exercises (P<0.001) in improving global cognition among elderly people with cognitive impairment. Another subgroup analysis demonstrated that exergames are as effective as no intervention and conventional exercises (P=0.38) in improving global cognition among elderly people with cognitive impairment. Although some studies found adverse events from using serious games, the number of adverse events was comparable between groups. CONCLUSIONS Serious games (in general) and cognitive training games have the potential to improve global cognition among elderly people with cognitive impairment. However, our findings remain inconclusive because the quality of evidence in all meta-analyses was very low, mainly due to the risk of bias raised in the majority of the included studies, high heterogeneity of the evidence, and imprecision of total effect sizes. Therefore, psychologists, psychiatrists, and patients should consider offering serious games as complementary and not a substitute to existing interventions until further, more robust evidence is available. Further studies are needed to assess the effect of exergames, the safety of serious games, and their long-term effect. CLINICALTRIAL Serious games; Cognitive training; Exergames; Mild cognitive impairment; Alzheimer's disease; Dementia; Global cognition; Systematic reviews; Meta-analysis

The effectiveness of serious games in improving executive functions among elderly people with cognitive impairment: A systematic review and meta-analysis (Preprint)

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alaa Abd-alrazaq ◽  
Dari Alhuwail ◽  
Arfan Ahmed ◽  
Mowafa Househ
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Executive Functions ◽  
Elderly People ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Serious Games ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Meta Analyses

BACKGROUND Executive functions are one of the known cognitive abilities that decline by age. They are the high-order cognitive processes that enable an individual to concentrate, plan, and take action. Serious games, which are games developed for specific purposes other than entertainment, could play a positive role in improving executive functions. Several systematic reviews have pooled the evidence about the effectiveness of serious games in improving executive functions; however, they are limited by some weaknesses. OBJECTIVE This study aims to investigate the effectiveness of serious games in improving executive functions among elderly people with cognitive impairment. METHODS A systematic review of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) was conducted. To retrieve relevant studies, 8 electronic databases were searched. Further, reference lists of the included studies and relevant reviews were screened, and we checked studies that cited our included studies. Two reviewers independently checked the eligibility of the studies, extracted data from the included studies, assessed the risk of bias, and appraised the quality of the evidence. We used a narrative and statistical approach, as appropriate, to synthesize results of the included studies. RESULTS Out of 548 publications identified, 16 RCTs were eventually included in this review. Our meta-analyses showed that serious games are as effective as no or passive interventions in improving executive functions (P=0.29). Surprisingly, conventional exercises were more effective than serious games in improving executive functions (P=0.03). Our subgroup analysis showed that both types of serious games (cognitive training games (P=0.08) and exergames (P=0.16)) are as effective as conventional exercises in improving executive functions. No difference was found between adaptive serious games and non-adaptive serious games in improving executive functions (P=0.59). CONCLUSIONS Serious games are not superior to no or passive interventions and conventional exercises in improving executive functions among older adults with cognitive impairment. However, our findings remain inconclusive due to the low quality of the evidence, the small sample size in most included studies, and the paucity of studies included in the meta-analyses. Accordingly, until more robust evidence is available, serious games should not be offered by healthcare providers nor used by patients for improving executive functions among older adults with cognitive functions. Further reviews are needed to assess the long-term effect of serious games on specific executive functions or other cognitive abilities among people from different age groups with or without cognitive impairment.

The effectiveness of serious games in improving memory among elderly people with cognitive impairment: A systematic review and meta-analysis (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alaa Abd-alrazaq ◽  
Dari Alhuwail ◽  
Eiman Al-Jafar ◽  
Arfan Ahmed ◽  
Shuja Mohd Reagu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Working Memory ◽  
Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Verbal Memory ◽  
Serious Games ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Quality Of Evidence ◽  
Meta Analyses

BACKGROUND Memory, one of the main cognitive functions, is known to decline by age. Serious games have been used for improving memory among the elderly. The effectiveness of serious games in improving memory has been investigated by several systematic reviews; however, they are limited by design and methodological weaknesses. OBJECTIVE This study aims to assess the effectiveness of serious games in improving memory among the elderly with cognitive impairment. METHODS A systematic review of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) was carried out. The search sources included searching 8 databases, screening reference lists of the included studies and relevant reviews, and checking studies that cited the included studies. Two reviewers independently carried out the study selection, data extraction, risk of bias assessment, and quality of evidence appraisal. Extracted data were synthesized using a narrative approach and a statistical approach (i.e., meta-analysis), as appropriate. RESULTS Out of 466 citations retrieved, 18 studies met the eligibility criteria of this review. Of those, 15 RCTs were eventually included in 10 meta-analyses. We found that serious games are more effective than no or passive interventions in improving non-verbal memory (P=0.002) and working memory (P=0.02), but not verbal memory (P=0.13). The review also showed that serious games are more effective than conventional exercises in improving verbal memory (P=0.004), but not for non-verbal memory (P=0.12) and working memory (P=0.49). Serious games were as effective as conventional cognitive activities in improving verbal memory (P=0.07), non-verbal memory (P=0.94), and working memory (P=0.08) among the elderly with cognitive impairment. Lastly, the effect of adaptive serious games on working memory was comparable to non-adaptive serious games (P=0.08). CONCLUSIONS Serious games have the potential to improve verbal, non-verbal, and working memory among elderly people with cognitive impairment. However, our findings should be interpreted cautiously given that most meta-analyses were based on a few studies (≤3) and judged to have a low quality of evidence. Therefore, serious games should be offered as supplemental to existing proven and safe interventions, rather than a complete substitute until further, more robust evidence is available. Future studies should investigate the short and long-term effects of serious games on memory and other cognitive abilities among people from different age groups with or without cognitive impairment.

Prevalence of mild cognitive impairment in patients with hypertension: a systematic review and meta-analysis

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiawei Qin ◽  
Zexiang He ◽  
Lijian Wu ◽  
Wanting Wang ◽  
Qiuxiang Lin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Mild Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Meta Analysis

Atrial Fibrillation Is Associated with Cognitive Impairment, All-Cause Dementia, Vascular Dementia, and Alzheimer’s Disease: a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christos A. Papanastasiou ◽  
Christina A. Theochari ◽  
Nikos Zareifopoulos ◽  
Angelos Arfaras-Melainis ◽  
George Giannakoulas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Atrial Fibrillation ◽  
Systematic Review ◽  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Vascular Dementia ◽  
Meta Analysis

Retinal biomarkers in Alzheimer’s disease and mild cognitive impairment: a systematic review and meta-analysis

2021 ◽  
pp. 101361
Author(s):  
Yi-Jun Ge ◽  
Wei Xu ◽  
Ya-Nan Ou ◽  
Yi Qu ◽  
Ya-Hui Ma ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Mild Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Meta Analysis

scholarly journals Repetition Priming in Individuals with Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer’s Dementia: a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liselotte De Wit ◽  
Vitoria Piai ◽  
Pilar Thangwaritorn ◽  
Brynn Johnson ◽  
Deirdre O’Shea ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Mild Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Repetition Priming ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Healthy Older Adults ◽  
Amnestic Mci ◽  
Standard Mean Difference ◽  
Priming Paradigm

AbstractThe literature on repetition priming in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is inconsistent, with some findings supporting spared priming while others do not. Several factors may explain these inconsistencies, including AD severity (e.g., dementia vs. Mild Cognitive Impairment; MCI) and priming paradigm-related characteristics. This systematic review and meta-analysis provides a quantitative summary of repetition priming in AD. We examined the between-group standard mean difference comparing repetition priming in AD dementia or amnestic MCI (aMCI; presumably due to AD) to controls. Thirty-two studies were selected, including 590 individuals with AD dementia, 267 individuals with amnestic MCI, and 703 controls. Our results indicated that both individuals with aMCI and AD dementia perform worse on repetition priming tasks than cognitively older adults. Paradigm-related moderators suggested that the effect size between studies comparing the combined aMCI or AD dementia group to cognitively healthy older adults was the highest for paradigms that required participants to produce, rather than identify, primes during the test phase. Our results further suggested that priming in AD is impaired for both conceptual and perceptual priming tasks. Lastly, while our results suggested that priming in AD is impaired for priming tasks that require deep processing, we were unable to draw firm conclusions about whether priming is less impaired in aMCI or AD dementia for paradigms that require shallow processing.

scholarly journals “The Dichotic Digit Test” as an Index Indicator for Hearing Problem in Dementia: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nattawan Utoomprurkporn ◽  
Chris J.D. Hardy ◽  
Joshua Stott ◽  
Sergi G. Costafreda ◽  
Jason Warren ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Speech Processing ◽  
Test Performance ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Control Group ◽  
People With Dementia ◽  
Ear Advantage ◽  
Right Ear Advantage ◽  
Dementia Onset

Abstract Background Patients with dementia commonly have problems processing speech in the presence of competing background speech or noise. This difficulty can be present from the very early stages of dementia, and may be a preclinical feature of Alzheimer's disease. Purpose This study investigates whether people with dementia perform worse on the dichotic digit test (DDT), an experimental probe of speech processing in the presence of competing speech, and whether test performance may predict dementia onset. Research Design Systematic review and meta-analysis. Data Collection and Analysis A literature search was conducted in Medline, Embase, Scopus, and Psycinfo. We included (1) studies that included people with a diagnosis of dementia and a healthy control group with no cognitive impairment; (2) studies that reported results from a DDT in a free-recall response task; and (3) studies that had the dichotic digit mean correct percentage score or right-ear advantage, as outcome measurements. Results People with dementia had a lower DDT total score, with a pooled mean difference of 18.6% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 21.2–15.9). Patients with dementia had an increased right-ear advantage relative to controls with a pooled difference of 24.4% (95% CI: 21.8–27.0). Conclusion The DDT total scores are lower and the right-ear advantage increased in cognitively impaired versus normal control participants. The findings also suggest that the reduction of dichotic digit total score and increase of right-ear advantage progress as cognitive impairment increases. Whether abnormalities in dichotic digit scores could predict subsequent dementia onset should be examined in further longitudinal studies.

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