Group Neuropsychological Rehabilitation of institutionalized elderly with Cognitive Impairment no Dementia

Background: Aging is often characterized by cognitive impairment that sometimes exceed the expected for normal aging. These changes that do not meet criteria for dementia establish the cognitive impairment no dementia (CIND) that, regardless of etiology, has a high conversion rate to dementia. 

Aims: To investigate the effect of a Group Neuropsychological Rehabilitation Program (GNRP) in cognitive, executive and emotional functioning of institutionalized elderly with CIND. 

Methods: The sample included 24 elderly individuals, aged between 67 and 92 years. Twelve elderly underwent the GNRP and twelve elderly stayed on a waiting list. The study had a quasi-experimental design and was blind in the re-assessment. The ten interventions took 90 minutes per session, once a week. The pre and post-intervention assessment included the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, the Mini-Mental State Examination, the Frontal Assessment Battery, the Geriatric Anxiety Inventory, and the Loneliness Scale. 

Results: The ANCOVAs showed a significant effect of the GNRP on the improvement of executive functioning (ɳ² = 0.26) and feelings of loneliness (ɳ² = 0.77), both with statistically significant differences (p < 0.05) between the baseline and the post-intervention. The comparison deteriorated in the cognitive functioning and depressive symptoms (p < 0.05), suggesting that the GNRP prevents that deterioration, but ANCOVA was significant only for cognitive functioning (ɳ² = 0.26).

Conclusion: The GNRP in institutionalized elderly with CIND offers promising results and shows efficacy in improving executive functioning and feelings of loneliness. Larger and more diverse samples and the study of the generalization and maintenance of long-term results are now needed.