Health Education and Lifestyle Training in Older Adults

NCT03432754 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: 2014B0337
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 74
• Locations: 0 countries
• Sites: N/A

Brief Summary

The investigators conducted a mindfulness training intervention in older adults aimed at examining the effects of brief mindfulness training on mind wandering as well as the cognitive and affective functioning of older adults. Individuals completed pre- and post-assessments of mind wandering and cognitive functioning. Additionally, all participants completed neuropsychological measures and self-report questionnaires.

Conditions

Older Adults

Keywords

Older adults; Mindfulness; Mind wandering; Health education; Working memory; Cognitive functioning; Emotion regulation; Emotional functioning

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (2)

• Change in Global Performance on Computerized Attentional Control Tasks

  Signal detection scores on two computerized tasks of attentional control calculated for each task using the formula for logistic distributions: dL = ln{\[H(1-FA)\]/\[(1-H)FA\]}, where H refers to hit rates and FA refers to false alarms.

  Baseline and after the 4-week intervention

• Change in Mind-Wandering During Attentional Control Tasks

  Frequency with which thoughts categorized as evaluating performance or off-task in response to quasi-random mind-wandering probes collected during two computerized tasks of attentional control.

  Baseline and after the 4-week intervention

Secondary Outcomes (3)

• Change in Self-report Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS)

  Baseline and after the 4-week intervention

• Change on Self-Report Measure of Emotion Dysregulation

  Baseline and after the 4-week intervention

• Change in Local Metrics of Attentional Control During Go/No-Go Task

  Baseline and after the 4-week intervention

Study Arms (2)

Mindfulness-Based Attention Training

EXPERIMENTAL

Four weekly group mindfulness attention training sessions of a 1.5-hour duration. Participants provided with audio recordings, readings, and homework assignments consisting of various mindfulness practices.

Behavioral: Mindfulness-Based Attention Training

Lifestyle Education Group

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Four weekly group lifestyle education sessions of a 1.5-hour duration. Homework consisting of reading, diet monitoring, stretching/toning exercises, and brainstorming new healthy living techniques/ideas.

Behavioral: Lifestyle Education

Interventions

Mindfulness-Based Attention Training BEHAVIORAL

The mindfulness-based attention training is closely modeled after the traditional mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) protocol, it incorporates formal MBSR practices such as breath exercises, body scans and long sitting meditations. Specifically, MBAT is an abbreviated version of MBSR with a focus on the cognitive components.

Mindfulness-Based Attention Training

Lifestyle Education BEHAVIORAL

The control group, which will be used to compare the effects of mindfulness training on emotional and cognitive functioning and mind wandering in older adults, will comprise of scientific health and lifestyle information. Lectures will be focused on concepts presented in the book "The Culprit and the Cure: Why lifestyle is the culprit behind America's poor health and how transforming that lifestyle can be the cure." Meetings will cover how to begin and maintain a more nutritious diet, classifying healthy choices across food groups, completing stretching/toning exercises, and reviewing homework.

Lifestyle Education Group

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 60 Years - 74 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• to 74 years of age
• No prior exposure to mindfulness training
• No significant meditation experience
• Have never engaged in regular practices of yoga
• Capable of attending both assessment and training sessions
• Corrected (near and far) visual acuity of 20/40 or better
• Normal color vision
• No self-reported history of psychiatric, neurological, or chronic inflammatory conditions
• Absence of psychiatric medication use
• Native English Speaker
• Adequate performance on the Mini-Mental Status Examination (MMSE; \>23)
• Depression score on the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) below clinical level (\<10)

You may not qualify if:

• Below 60 years of age or above 74 years of age
• Have exposure to or experience with any type of meditation or yoga regularly (one hour a week for at least 12 months)
• Any physical or pragmatic limitation that prohibits attendance at both sessions
• Corrected (near or far) visual acuity worse than 20/40
• All types of color blindness
• Presence of diagnosed neurological disorders (such as: Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease or multiple sclerosis) or chronic inflammatory conditions
• Presence of any diagnosed psychiatric disorder such as depression, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), substance abuse
• Presence of psychiatric medication use such as Xanax, Wellbutrin, or Vivance
• Non-Native English Speaker or no fluency in English
• Inadequate performance on the Mini-Mental Status Examination (MMSE; \<23)
• Depression score on GDS indicative of clinical depression (\>10)

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Ohio State University: lead

Related Publications (2)

• Fountain-Zaragoza S, Londeree A, Whitmoyer P, Prakash RS. Dispositional mindfulness and the wandering mind: Implications for attentional control in older adults. Conscious Cogn. 2016 Aug;44:193-204. doi: 10.1016/j.concog.2016.08.003. Epub 2016 Aug 16.

  PMID: 27541935 RESULT

• Duraney EJ, Phansikar M, Prakash RS. Psychosocial Correlates of Adherence to Mind-Body Interventions. Prev Sci. 2025 Jul;26(5):839-848. doi: 10.1007/s11121-025-01810-1. Epub 2025 May 6.

  PMID: 40325320 DERIVED

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Health Education; Emotional Regulation

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Adherence Interventions; Medication Adherence; Patient Compliance; Patient Acceptance of Health Care; Treatment Adherence and Compliance; Health Behavior; Behavior; Self-Control; Social Behavior

Study Officials

• Ruchika Prakash, PhD

  Ohio State University

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: DOUBLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT, OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Masking Details: Randomization was conducted by the principle investigator (PI) and study coordinator using a computerized random number generator program (randomization.com). All experimenters (except the PI and study coordinator) were blinded to group assignments until study conclusion. To further reduce demand characteristics, participants were unaware of which group was considered the experimental intervention until debriefed by an experimenter after completing the study. Study binders were created to blind group assignment, and participants in each group were asked not to discuss the sessions with members of the other group or with the experimenter at their post-intervention assessment.
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Associate Professor

Model Details: This randomized control trial compared a mindfulness-based attention training (MBAT) group with an active control lifestyle education group. A total of 147 individuals underwent eligibility screening over the phone and in-person at an initial assessment session. Of those eligible, 75 participants volunteered to participate and were randomly assigned to groups. However, one of these participants did not complete the first assessment session and was randomized in error. Thus, 74 participants who completed the first assessment session and met all eligibility criteria were randomly assigned to either the MBAT group or the active control group (lifestyle education). Randomization was conducted by a study author using a computerized random number generator program (randomization.com), applying a varying block size of two and four and stratifying participants by gender. A total of 37 participants were allocated to the each of the two groups.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: February 7, 2018
• First Posted: February 14, 2018
• Study Start: October 20, 2014
• Primary Completion: April 29, 2015
• Study Completion: April 29, 2015
• Last Updated: February 14, 2018

Record last verified: 2018-02

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share