Cognitive Stimulation in Older Adults with Dementia: A Systematic Review

Background: Dementia is a condition that affects the components of cognitive functions that are responsible for processing thought. There is no cure, but both pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatment helps to slow its progression. Presently, there is an increasing interest in non-pharmacological treatment, including cognitive stimulation, which aims to improve the person’s preserved abilities in order to slow down the progression of the disease while maintaining the current state for as long as possible. The aim of this systematic review is to analyse the effects of cognitive stimulation in older people with dementia. Methods: This systematic review was conducted in the Pubmed, OTSeeker, ScienceDirect, Dialnet, and Scopus databases. The inclusion criteria were controlled trials, randomised and non-randomised clinical trials, and pilot studies that applied cognitive stimulation to older people with dementia or compared this therapy with another type of non-pharmacological intervention. Results: Twenty-one studies were included in the review. Most of the articles showed that the intervention group achieved better cognitive performance than the control group after completing the cognitive stimulation intervention. Four of the studies assessed caregivers and, in two of the them, improvements in the caregiver’s relationship with the person with dementia were achieved and the caregivers also improved their health-related quality of life. Conclusions: According to the results, cognitive stimulation does influence older adults with dementia, especially on cognitive functions. The results also indicate that cognitive stimulation can be beneficial for the caregivers because this therapy has positive effects on their quality of life as related to both their health and their relationship with the person with the disease. However, more research is needed, especially regarding the quality of life of patients with the disease.