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THURSDAY, March 25, 2021 (HealthDay News) – Exercise, mental stimulation and massage are among the drug-free therapies that are as good or better than drugs for treating depression in dementia patients, researchers say.
They looked at 256 studies involving a total of over 28,000 people with dementia with or without major depression.
Medication alone was no more effective than usual care in treating depression in these patients. But 10 therapies were more effective than usual care, according to the study. It was published on March 24 in the BMJ.
“Non-drug approaches were associated with a significant reduction in symptoms of depression in people with dementia and without a diagnosis of major depressive disorder,” said researchers led by Jennifer Watt, of the University’s Geriatric Medicine Division. from Toronto.
Beneficial therapies included: cognitive stimulation; exercise; reminiscence therapy (which helps people with dementia remember events, people and places in their lives); mental stimulation with a cholinesterase inhibitor (a medicine used to treat dementia); and massage and tactile therapy.
Other useful therapies included multidisciplinary care; psychotherapy combined with reminiscence therapy and environmental modification; occupational therapy; exercise combined with social interaction and mental stimulation and pet therapy.
Three of those approaches – massage and tactile therapy, mental stimulation with a cholinesterase inhibitor, and mental stimulation combined with exercise and social interaction – have been found to be more effective than some drugs, Watt said and his colleagues in a press release.
The researchers said their findings suggest that doctors should use more non-drug methods to treat depression and loneliness in people with dementia.
The study had limitations, the researchers noted. For example, it did not assess the severity of symptoms of depression, the effects on different types of dementia, or the potential costs or harms of drug and non-drug interventions.
However, they said the study’s strengths included the large number of articles reviewed and the use of a recognized clinical scale for symptoms of depression.
Healthcare providers, caregivers and patients all have a role to play in putting these findings into practice, according to the authors.
Of the 50 million people with dementia worldwide, about 16% have also been diagnosed with major depression and 32% have symptoms of depression without a formal diagnosis, the researchers noted.
More information
The US National Institute on Aging has more on dementia.
SOURCE: BMJ, press release, March 24, 2021
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