Objectives:
To ascertain and compare the performance of adult and elderly participants in attention, memory, mood and metamemory assessments, before and after participating in the intergenerational multidisciplinary cognitive stimulation program.
Method:
The medical records of 79 male and female patients, aged 40 years and older, were selected between 2008 and 2012. Each participant had at least 11 years of schooling and complained of subjective memory deficiencies. Dementia, as defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders - DSM-IV-TR, was ruled out as a cause of such complaints among the patients. The results of cognitive test evaluations, mood scale and subjective memory complaint questionnaire scores were assembled, before and after patient participation in the stimulation program, which consisted of twenty 100 minute sessions that were conducted in a large hospital in the city of São Paulo.
Results:
There was an improvement in patient performance, not only regarding attention tests but also memory tests (p<0,001); however, no improvement was detected regarding metamemory. There was a reduction in symptoms of depression (p=0,014) and anxiety (p<0,001). Immediate associative learning improved greatly among elderly participants (p=0,022), whereas the reduction in symptoms of anxiety and depression (p=0,019) was greater among adult participants (p=0,022).
Conclusions:
Study results showed that Intergenerational Multidisciplinary Cognitive Stimulation program improved the cognitive performance and the mood of adult and elderly participants who complained of subjective memory deficiencies.
Cognitive Stimulation; Multidisciplinary; Intergenerational; Memory; Cognition