Evaluating the impact of a darts game intervention on cognitive function in older adults with and without mild cognitive impairment: a pilot study.
Nami Kawabata, Tadayuki Iida, Masafumi Kunishige and 3 others
PMID 38375367WHAT IT FOUND
A darts communication programme did not establish cognitive improvement in older adults.
In those without mild cognitive impairment, forward weight shift while throwing had a possible link to later MoCA scores, but the link was not established.
Key findings
01Before the intervention, older adults without mild cognitive impairment shifted their center of pressure toward the darts target more than those with mild cognitive impairment.
02In the non-MCI group, baseline forward center-of-pressure shift showed a possible association with MCI score after the intervention, but it did not reach the paper's threshold for a clear result.
03In the MCI group, older age was the only factor reported as significantly associated with MCI score after the intervention.
STILL TO COME
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What it does not show
All participants received the darts communication programme, so there was no untreated comparison group. The sample came from one city, and only 17 (30.9%) were male, so results may not apply to all older adults. Several participants were excluded or lost: six could not be followed up, six failed post-intervention measurements, one rejected assessment, and one was an outlier. The programme lasted only 1 month, and the authors say its effectiveness for improving cognitive function is questionable. Interest in darts and habituation could have affected the weight shift association.
Declared interests
The authors declare financial support for research, authorship, or publication. The work was supported by a grant from the Mihara City Lifelong Active Community Promotion Project.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that darts alone improves cognition in older adults with or without mild cognitive impairment. The programme combined darts with team communication, and the paper does not separate their contributions. It also had no untreated comparison group, lasted only 1 month, and the forward weight shift finding in the non-MCI group did not reach the paper's threshold for a clear association.