Primavera Diego, Aviles Gonzalez Cesar, Perra Alessandra, Kalcev Goce, Cantone Elisa, Cossu Giulia, Holzinger Anita, Carta Mauro Giovanni, Sancassiani Federica
Department of Medical Sciences and Public Health, University of Cagliari, 09042 Cagliari, Italy.
Department of Nursing, Universidad Popular del Cesar, Valledupar 200001, Colombia.
Healthcare (Basel). 2024 Sep 3;12(17):1753. doi: 10.3390/healthcare12171753.
Dementia, depression, and cardiovascular disease are major public health concerns for older adults, requiring early intervention. This study investigates whether a virtual reality cognitive remediation program (VR-CR) can improve cognitive function and depressive symptoms in older adults, and determines the necessary sample size for future studies. Integrated VR and CR interventions have shown promising outcomes in older adults with neurodegenerative and mental health disorders.
This secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial involves adults aged 58-75 years with bipolar disorder, excluding those with acute episodes, epilepsy, or severe eye diseases. The experimental group received standard treatment plus VR-CR, while the control group received only standard treatment.
No baseline differences were found between the experimental and control groups. No significant improvement was observed in the overall cognitive function test ( = 0.897) or in depressive symptoms ( = 0.322). A phase III efficacy study requires a sample size of 28 participants (alpha = 0.05, beta = 0.20).
VR-CR can potentially treat depressive symptoms in adults and older adults, but the results support conducting phase III studies to further investigate these outcomes. However, the improvement in cognitive performance in the elderly is less pronounced than in younger individuals.
痴呆、抑郁和心血管疾病是老年人主要的公共卫生问题，需要早期干预。本研究调查虚拟现实认知康复计划（VR-CR）是否能改善老年人的认知功能和抑郁症状，并确定未来研究所需的样本量。综合VR和CR干预已在患有神经退行性疾病和精神健康障碍的老年人中显示出有前景的结果。
这项对一项随机对照试验的二次分析涉及年龄在58至75岁之间的双相情感障碍成年人，排除有急性发作、癫痫或严重眼部疾病的患者。实验组接受标准治疗加VR-CR，而对照组仅接受标准治疗。
实验组和对照组之间未发现基线差异。在总体认知功能测试（=0.897）或抑郁症状（=0.322）方面未观察到显著改善。一项III期疗效研究需要28名参与者的样本量（α=0.05，β=0.20）。
VR-CR可能治疗成年人和老年人的抑郁症状，但结果支持进行III期研究以进一步调查这些结果。然而，老年人认知表现的改善不如年轻人明显。
