Multidomain lifestyle intervention benefits a large elderly population at risk for cognitive decline and dementia regardless of baseline characteristics: The FINGER trial

TLDR

The FINGER trial, a 2‑year multidomain lifestyle intervention study, showed cognitive benefits in older adults at risk for dementia. The study examined whether sociodemographic, socioeconomic, cognitive, or cardiovascular factors modified the cognitive benefits of the intervention. A randomized controlled trial of 1,260 Finnish adults aged 60–77 at risk for dementia compared a multidomain intervention (diet, exercise, cognition, vascular risk management) to standard health advice and assessed change in a neuropsychological test battery using mixed‑model repeated‑measure analyses. No participant characteristics—demographic, socioeconomic, cognitive, or cardiovascular—modified the intervention’s cognitive benefits, indicating the program is effective across diverse elderly populations.

Abstract

Abstract Introduction The 2‐year Finnish Geriatric Intervention Study to Prevent Cognitive Impairment and Disability (FINGER) multidomain lifestyle intervention trial (NCT01041989) demonstrated beneficial effects on cognition. We investigated whether sociodemographics, socioeconomic status, baseline cognition, or cardiovascular factors influenced intervention effects on cognition. Methods The FINGER recruited 1260 people from the general Finnish population (60–77 years, at risk for dementia). Participants were randomized 1:1 to multidomain intervention (diet, exercise, cognition, and vascular risk management) and regular health advice. Primary outcome was change in cognition (Neuropsychological Test Battery z‐score). Prespecified analyses to investigate whether participants' characteristics modified response to intervention were carried out using mixed‐model repeated‐measures analyses. Results Sociodemographics (sex, age, and education), socioeconomic status (income), cognition (Mini–Mental State Examination), cardiovascular factors (body mass index, blood pressure, cholesterol, fasting glucose, and overall cardiovascular risk), and cardiovascular comorbidity did not modify response to intervention ( P ‐values for interaction > .05). Conclusions The FINGER intervention was beneficial regardless of participants' characteristics and can thus be implemented in a large elderly population at increased risk for dementia.