Older adults with subjective cognitive decline (SCD) recruited from memory clinics are at higher risk for dementia and often have reduced well-being due to memory concerns and fear of dementia. A randomized trial compared an 8-week caring mindfulness-based approach for seniors (CMBAS) with a health self-management program (HSMP) in 147 participants. The mindfulness program showed a small advantage over HSMP in improving a sense of connection immediately after the intervention. However, overall psychological well-being, quality of life, and other composite measures did not increase in either group. The findings suggest that these brief non-pharmacological interventions had only limited effects on well-being in SCD.
An 18-month meditation training program for healthy older adults aged 65 to 84 improved a composite measure of well-being encompassing awareness, connection, and insight, compared to an active control of English language training. The meditation group also showed significant increases in psychological quality of life, awareness, insight, and the global score from the start to the end of the study. However, meditation did not outperform the active control on the Psychological Well-being Scale total score, and improvements in psychological quality of life were no longer significant after adjusting for multiple comparisons. The trial, involving 137 participants, represents the longest randomized meditation training study to date.