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Computerised cognitive training for 12 or more weeks for maintaining cognitive function in cognitively healthy people in late life
Gates NJ, Rutjes AW, Di Nisio M, Karim S, Chong LY, March E, Martínez G, Vernooij RW.. The Cochrane database of systematic reviews, 2020-02-27
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Background Increasing age is associated with a natural decline in cognitive function and is the greatest risk factor for dementia. Cognitive decline and dementia are significant threats to independence and quality of life in older adults. Experimental interventions adhered to the following criteria: intervention was any form of interactive computerised cognitive intervention - including computer exercises, computer games, mobile devices, gaming console, and virtual reality - that involved repeated practice on standardised exercises of specified cognitive domain(s) for the purpose of enhancing cognitive function; the duration of the intervention was at least 12 weeks; cognitive outcomes were measured; and cognitive training interventions were compared with active or inactive control interventions. Data collection and analysis We performed preliminary screening of search results using a 'crowdsourcing' method to identify RCTs. We used GRADE methods to describe the overall quality of the evidence for each outcome. Main results We identified eight RCTs with a total of 1183 participants. The included studies had moderate risk of bias, and the overall quality of evidence was low or very low for all outcomes. Trial results suggest slight improvement in global cognitive function at the end of the intervention period (12 weeks) (standardised mean difference (SMD) -0.31, 95% confidence interval (CI) -0.57 to -0.05; 232 participants; 2 studies; low-quality evidence). CCT may result in little or no difference at the end of the intervention period in episodic memory (12 to 17 weeks) (SMD 0.06, 95% CI -0.14 to 0.26; 439 participants; 4 studies; low-quality evidence) or working memory (12 to 16 weeks) (SMD -0.17, 95% CI -0.36 to 0.02; 392 participants; 3 studies; low-quality evidence). We found no data on our primary outcome of global cognitive function. We found no evidence on quality of life, activities of daily living, or adverse effects in either comparison. Authors' conclusions We found low-quality evidence suggesting that immediately after completion of the intervention, small benefits of CCT may be seen for global cognitive function when compared with active controls, and for episodic memory when compared with an inactive control. We found no evidence that the effect on global cognitive function persisted 12 months later. Our confidence in the results was low, reflecting the overall quality of the evidence. We found substantial literature on cognitive training, an
Key findings
- Background Increasing age is associated with a natural decline in cognitive function and is the greatest risk factor for dementia.
- Cognitive decline and dementia are significant threats to independence and quality of life in older adults.
- Experimental interventions adhered to the following criteria: intervention was any form of interactive computerised cognitive intervention - including computer exercises, computer games, mobile devices, gaming console, and virtual reality - that involved repeated practice on standardised exercises of specified cognitive domain(s) for the purpose of enhancing cognitive function; the duration of the intervention was at least 12 weeks; cognitive outcomes were measured; and cognitive training interventions were compared with active or inactive control interventions.
- Data collection and analysis We performed preliminary screening of search results using a 'crowdsourcing' method to identify RCTs.
- We used GRADE methods to describe the overall quality of the evidence for each outcome.
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Study details
- Study designmeta-analysis
- Participants1,183
- Evidence strengthHigh
How this study scored 79/100
Published in a leading specialty journal, and it is a meta-analysis pooling many studies. Scored zero for effect reported because the record does not state it. We have no data on journal's citation record, times cited, citations per year, impact for its field and year, cited by studies here, still being cited, senior author's track record, institution's track record and multi-centre collaboration, so those were left out: it earned 46 of the 58 points we could judge it on, which is 79 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 9 / 10 | Tier 2 — leading specialty journal (The Cochrane database of systematic reviews) |
| Journal's citation record | — / 4 | No journal record from OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Study design | 12 / 12 | A meta-analysis pooling many studies |
| Strength of evidence | 5 / 5 | Rated “high” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 2 / 5 | 2020 — within 10 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 3 / 4 | 1,183 participants |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (participant count stated) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | A review of other studies — randomisation is not credited here |
| Times cited | — / 7 | No citation count (not found in OpenAlex) — left out of this score |
| Citations per year | — / 5 | No citation count or no year — left out of this score |
| Impact for its field and year | — / 6 | No field-weighted citation impact (OpenAlex has none yet) — left out of this score |
| Cited by studies here | — / 6 | Not yet checked against this library's citation graph — left out of this score |
| Still being cited | — / 4 | No yearly citation counts — left out of this score |
| Senior author's track record | — / 4 | Senior author's record not available — left out of this score |
| Institution's track record | — / 3 | No institution listed in OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Multi-centre collaboration | — / 3 | Institutions not listed — left out of this score |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 32104914) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Points | 46 / 58 | Scored on 11 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 46 of the 58 points we could judge it on is 79 out of 100. |
| Total | 79 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
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Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. The record names 8 authors; APA and Vancouver show the first six, BibTeX and the downloads carry all of them. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Gates, N. J., Rutjes, A. W., Di Nisio, M., Karim, S., Chong, L. Y., March, E., et al. (2020). Computerised cognitive training for 12 or more weeks for maintaining cognitive function in cognitively healthy people in late life. The Cochrane database of systematic reviews. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.cd012277.pub3
Vancouver
Gates NJ, Rutjes AW, Di Nisio M, Karim S, Chong LY, March E, et al. Computerised cognitive training for 12 or more weeks for maintaining cognitive function in cognitively healthy people in late life. The Cochrane database of systematic reviews. 2020. doi:10.1002/14651858.cd012277.pub3. PMID: 32104914.
BibTeX
@article{gates2020-32104914,
author = {Gates, N. J. and Rutjes, A. W. and Di Nisio, M. and Karim, S. and Chong, L. Y. and March, E. and Martínez, G. and Vernooij, R. W.},
title = {{Computerised cognitive training for 12 or more weeks for maintaining cognitive function in cognitively healthy people in late life}},
journal = {The Cochrane database of systematic reviews},
year = {2020},
doi = {10.1002/14651858.cd012277.pub3},
pmid = {32104914},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.cd012277.pub3}
}
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