Effectiveness of Leisure-Focused Occupational Therapy Interventions in Middle-Aged and Older People with Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Systematic Review

Overview

Journal Healthcare (Basel)

Specialty Health Services

Date 2025 Jan 8

PMID 39765948

Authors

Edgar Vasquez-Carrasco

Camila Huenchuquen

Catalina Ferron

Jordan Hernandez-Martinez

Sibila Floriano Landim

Fabiola Helbig

Florencia Carmine

Pablo Valdes-Badilla

Cristian Sandoval

Celia Sanchez Gomez

Pedro Moruno-Miralles

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

This systematic review aimed to evaluate and synthesize scientific evidence on occupational therapy (OT) interventions focused on leisure activities to improve activities of daily living (ADLs) and cognitive function in middle-aged and older people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). A systematic review was carried out following the guidelines established by the PRISMA statement. The study was registered in the PROSPERO database. Four databases were used for the literature search process (Scopus, Web of Science, Medline/PubMed, ScienceDirect), and selected results were assessed using standard tools for risk of bias and certainty of evidence with GRADEpro. Of 169 records identified in the databases, 7 studies with a total of 620 middle-aged and older people (44.9% female) with a mean age of 77.5 years were analyzed using the PICOS format. The meta-analysis of the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) revealed no significant improvements in cognitive function ( > 0.05). Individual studies reported varied results on ADL among people with MCI, with some demonstrating significant improvements following leisure interventions, while others found no notable differences between groups ( > 0.05). OT interventions did not significantly improve MMSE of the overall cognitive function and ADL performance in middle-aged and older people with MCI. Therefore, further studies detailing the dosage of interventions are needed.

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