Reminiscence Therapy Improves Cognitive Functions and Reduces Depressive Symptoms in Elderly People With Dementia: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.
OBJECTIVE
Cognitive function impairments and depressive symptoms are common in elderly people with dementia. Previous meta-analyses of outdated and small-scale studies have reported inconsistent results regarding the effects of reminiscence therapy on cognitive functions and depressive symptoms; therefore, we conducted a meta-analysis by including more recent randomized controlled trials (RCTs) with large sample sizes to investigate the immediate and long-term (6-10 months) effects of reminiscence therapy on cognitive functions and depressive symptoms in elderly people with dementia.


METHODS
Electronic databases, including PubMed, Medline, CINAHL, PsycINFO, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, ProQuest, Google Scholar, and Chinese databases were searched to select eligible articles. Primary outcome measures included the scores of cognitive functions and depressive symptoms. In total, 12 RCT studies investigating the effects of reminiscence therapy on cognitive functions and depressive symptoms in elderly people with dementia were included. Two reviewers independently extracted data. All analyses were performed using a random-effects model.


RESULTS
Reminiscence therapy had a small-size effect on cognitive functions (g = 0.18, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.05-0.30) and a moderate-size effect on depressive symptoms (g = -0.49, 95% CI -0.70 to -0.28) in elderly people with dementia. Long-term effects of reminiscence therapy on cognitive functions and depressive symptoms were not confirmed. Moderator analysis revealed that institutionalized elderly people with dementia exhibited greater improvement in depressive symptoms than community-dwelling people with dementia did (g = -0.59 vs. -0.16, P = .003).


CONCLUSIONS
This meta-analysis confirms that reminiscence therapy is effective in improving cognitive functions and depressive symptoms in elderly people with dementia. Our findings suggest that regular reminiscence therapy should be considered for inclusion as routine care for the improvement of cognitive functions and depressive symptoms in elderly people with dementia, particularly in institutionalized residents with dementia.
School of Nursing, College of Nursing, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
Hui-Chuan
HC
Huang
School of Nursing, College of Medicine, Chung Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan.
Yu-Ting
YT
Chen
Department of Neurosurgery, Chung Gung Memorial Hospital, Taoyuan, Taiwan; School of Medicine, Chung Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan.
Pin-Yuan
PY
Chen
School of Nursing, College of Nursing, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
Sophia
S
Huey-Lan Hu
School of Gerontology Health Management, College of Nursing, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
Fang
F
Liu
Department of Nursing, Yonghe Cardinal Tien Hospital, New Taipei City, Taiwan; School of Nursing, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan.
Ying-Ling
YL
Kuo
School of Nursing, College of Nursing, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan. Electronic address: hychiu0315@tmu.edu.tw.
Hsiao-Yean
HY
Chiu
D000368:Aged; D003071:Cognition; D003863:Depression / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007858:Learning; D008297:Male; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
Reminiscence therapy; cognition; dementia; depression; meta-analysis