The project delivered and validated short interventions to seniors reporting SCD, across four European countries, and long interventions to healthy seniors. Significant self-report improvements were found on a global score reflecting attention regulation, socio-emotional capacities and self-knowledge capacities in the long but not the short interventions when comparing the meditation intervention to the active control. Age-Well confirms the feasibility of meditation and language training in elderly, paving the way for future studies on similar interventions in ageing populations. To further understand how lifestyle could influence older adults’ cognitive and brain health, a battery of questionnaires was proposed and has been harmonised in the four different countries of the project. Notably, the harmonisation of one of these questionnaires assessing lifetime experiences (LEQ) is now available for sharing with the scientific community in the four languages.
For a better understanding of the role and malleability of emotional processes in healthy ageing, we have developed an innovative task to measure brain activations during and after emotionally challenging events - the Socio-affective Video Task Rest. We also developed behavioural assessment batteries in four languages. More than 50 measures were selected, acquired, translated and compiled into a manual for use as a project resource.
Dissemination and Publication
The communication team has created and managed two websites, the main project website in English and an additional French language website. The Medit-Ageing European Network of research, clinical and professional stakeholders was established in June 2016 and at the end of the funding period, it holds 898 validated and consented names. A multi-country media contacts database (newspapers, magazines, freelancers, online, radio & TV) was created and holds a curated list of 2003 contacts from across the globe. Over the course of the project, there has been significant international media coverage including articles in local and national press, radio, TV highlights and online media outlets.
22 papers have been published or about to be submitted in high-rank peer reviewed journals:
• 5 reviews: on the SCD population (Jessen et al., Lancet Neurol, 2020), on the impact of meditation on ageing (Chételat et al., Alz Res Ther, 2018; Klimecki et al., Psychology, 2019), on the effects of mindfulness-based programs on cognitive performance in adults (Whitfield et al., Neuropsycho Rev, 2021) and the impact of language learning on ageing (Ware et al., Front Aging Neurosci, 2021)
• A theoretical model on the meditation interventions (Lutz and Chételat et al. Ageing Res Rev 2021) (IF 10.9)
• 3 protocol papers on SCD-Well (Marchant et al., Alz Dement, 2018), Age-Well (Poisnel et al., Alz Dement, 2018) and the expert mediators observational study (Lutz et al., Alz Dement, 2018)
• 2 primary outcome articles of SCD-Well and Age-Well clinical trials (Marchant et al., Psychother Psychosom, 2021; Chételat, Lutz et al., JAMA Neurol, 2022) (IF: 18,3)
• Analyses on baseline data led to the publication of 11 articles, amongst which 7 have been accepted in high-rank peer-reviewed journals (JAMA Neurology – IF: 18.3 Neurology - IF: 9.9; Neuroimage – IF: 7.4; Alzheimer's research and Therapy – IF 6.4 and Front Aging Neurosci – IF 4.5) and 5 are about to be submitted or under review in high-rank peer-reviewed journals.
