Clinical Efficacy of Multidomain Interventions among Multimorbid Older People Stratified by the Status of Physio-Cognitive Declines: A Secondary Analysis from the Randomized Controlled Trial for Healthy Aging

Objectives: To investigate the clinical efficacy of integrated multidomain intervention among community-living older adults with multimorbidity and physio-cognitive decline syndrome (PCDS). Design, Setting and Participants: This is the secondary analysis from a randomized controlled trial that data of 340 participants with Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) scores≥18 were excerpted for analysis. Intervention: Sixteen 2-hour sessions per year were provided for participants, including physical exercise, cognitive training, dietician education and individualized integrated care for multimorbidity. Measurements: Handgrip strength, 6-m walking speed, MoCA (total score and sub-domains), Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS) frailty score, quality of life, and serum biochemistry biomarkers. Results: Overall, 96/340 (28.2%) of all participants have PCDS, and the integrated multidomain intervention significantly improved global cognitive performance (overall difference 1.1, 95% CI 0.4–1.8, p=0.003), and domains of concentration (overall difference 0.3, 95%CI 0.1–0.5, p=0.011), language (overall difference 0.2, 95%CI 0.1–0.3, p=0.006), abstract thinking (overall difference 0.1, 95%CI 0.0–0.3, p=0.027), and orientation(overall difference 0.2, 95%CI 0.0–0.4, p=0.013) across all timepoints among those with PCDS. Besides, interventions also significantly reduced frailty score among those with cognitive impairment no dementia (overall difference −0.3, 95%CI −0.5 − −0.1, p=0.011) and mobility impairment no disability (overall difference −0.3, 95%CI −0.4 − −0.1, p=0.004). and improved quality of life at domain of physical role limitation among those with PCDS (overall difference 5.3, 95%CI 0.3–10.4, p=0.038). Conclusions: The integrated multidomain lifestyle intervention plus multimorbidity management significantly improved cognitive function, and enhanced quality of life among older adults with multimorbidity and PCDS in the communities.