Table 1.
Baseline of included studies
| Year | First author | Study design | Principle health problem |
Mean age in years | SEX | MMSE Inclusion criteria |
Final sample size | Intervention | Duration | Control | Main outcomes | Main findings | Risk of bias |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Domingo J | Double-blind RCT |
AD | No mention | M/F (54/66) | ≥18 | 120 | MBAS+ChEIs; CST+ChEIs；PMR+ChEIs |
2 years | ChEIs | MMSE; CAMCOG | The mindfulness group showed significant scores compared with the control and muscle relaxation groups. Group cognitive stimulation evolved better than the control group but not better than the muscle relaxation group. | low |
| 2015 | D’Onofrio | single-blind RCT | AD | 78.19 | M/F (42/48) | ≥10 | 90 | CST+ChEIs | 6-month | ChEIs | MMSE；CDR；HAMD；NPI | The study showed that the integrated treatment of RTP with CS in AD patients for 6 months improved significantly cognition, depressive and neuropsychiatric symptoms, fuctional status, and mortality risk in comparison with a group of AD patients receiving only RTP. | low |
| 2006 | L Ta´rraga | Single-blind, pilot RCT | AD | 76.7 | F (84.78) | 18–24 | 43 | CST+ChEIs | 24 weeks | ChEIs | ADAS-Cog；MMSE | Cognitive stimulation treatment improved cognition in patients who were treated with a stable dose of ChEI, compared with those who were treated only with ChEIs. | Unclear |
| 2006 | Osamu Matsuda | A single-blind RCT | AD | 70.77 | M/F (10/20) | No mention | 30 | CST+ChEIs | 1 year | ChEIs | MMSE | The results of this study suggest that CST may be an important component of therapy for mild AD treated with acetylcholinesterase inhibitors. | Unclear |
| 2010 | Yi-Xuan Niu | Rater-blind RCT | Mild to moderate AD | 79.85 | M/F (25/7) | 10–24 | 32 | CST+ChEIs | 10 weeks | ChEIs | NPI; MMSE | The study showed that cognitive stimulation therapy has significant efficacy in lowering apathy and depression symptomatology and in the Mini Mental State Examination in patients with mild to moderate AD. | Low |
Abbreviations: AD, Alzheimer’s disease; CST, cognitive stimulation therapy; ChEIs, acetylcholinesterase inhibitor; MMSE, Mini-Mental State Examination; RCT, randomized controlled trials; ADAS-Cog, Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment Scale-cognitive; NPI, neuropsychiatric inventory; MBAS, The mindfulness-based Alzheimer's stimulation; PMR, progressive muscle relaxation; CAMCOG, Cambridge Cognitive Examination; CDR, Clinical Dementia Rating; HAMD, Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression; RTP, rivastigmine transdermal patch.