Effects of Individual Cognitive Stimulation Therapy on Cognitive Function and Depressive Mood in Dementia Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

To assess the effects of individualised cognitive stimulation therapy (ICST) on dementia patients, we searched Chinese and English databases for intervention studies on individual cognitive stimulation therapy in dementia patients and used Review Manager 5.3 software for meta-analysis. The results of the meta-analysis indicated that the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) showed a significant difference in cognitive function (MD: 1.65; 95% CI: 0.06-3.24). However, no significant effect was found in the assessment of the Cognitive Subscale of the Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale (ADAS-Cog). Overall, ICST demonstrated improved cognitive function in dementia patients and led to a reduction in depression (MD: -1.18; 95% CI: -2.14 to -0.22). Nevertheless, there were no significant effects on quality of life, neuropsychiatric symptoms, or activities of daily living observed. ICST can effectively improve the cognitive ability of dementia patients and reduce depression. There is a need for further studies to confirm these findings and investigate potential mechanisms.