As populations age worldwide, preventing cognitive decline has become an increasingly important public health priority. Although intensive clinical trials have shown that multidomain lifestyle interventions can support brain health, translating these resource-intensive approaches into practical, scalable programmes for local communities remains a challenge.

Addressing this gap, a collaborative research team led by Kumamoto University, together with researchers from the National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology (NCGG) and National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University in Taiwan, evaluated a community-adapted brain health programme in Kikuyo Town, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan. The study explored whether evidence-based dementia prevention strategies could be successfully incorporated into routine municipal health services.

Published in Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics, the study involved 50 community-dwelling older adults who participated in a 24-week programme. Rather than focusing on a single aspect of health, the intervention combined several lifestyle approaches associated with healthy ageing and cognitive well-being.

Participants took part in aerobic exercise, resistance training and dual-task cognitive exercises, while also receiving nutritional guidance. A dedicated daily notebook encouraged participants to monitor their lifestyle habits and progress, helping them incorporate healthier behaviours into everyday life. This multidomain approach was designed to be practical enough for implementation within a community setting.

Participation and satisfaction were particularly encouraging. The programme achieved an average attendance rate of 91.5%, while 98% of participants reported that they enjoyed the sessions. These high levels of engagement suggest that a structured dementia prevention programme can be both feasible and appealing to older adults when adapted to a municipal setting.

Following the six-month intervention, participants showed statistically significant improvements in attention scores and dietary balance scores. Attention scores improved significantly from baseline (p=0.019), while general memory scores remained stable. The findings suggest that attention may be particularly responsive to short-term, community-based multidomain interventions and could serve as a useful outcome when evaluating similar programmes.

Exploratory analysis provided further insight into who might benefit most. Participants who began the programme with lower attention scores experienced the greatest short-term improvements. Dietary balance scores also improved significantly, indicating that participants were able to make meaningful changes to their eating habits alongside their participation in physical and cognitive activities.

The researchers emphasise that the study was a practical implementation evaluation rather than a confirmatory clinical trial, so the findings should be interpreted accordingly. Nevertheless, the strong participation, high satisfaction and measurable improvements in attention and dietary habits demonstrate the potential for evidence-based dementia prevention strategies to move beyond controlled research environments and into everyday community life. The findings offer local governments a practical model for developing sustainable programmes that promote brain health, healthier lifestyles and independence among older residents.

More information: Naoto Kajitani et al, Attention as a potentially responsive cognitive outcome in a community-based multidomain dementia prevention program (the community-adapted J-MINT Brain Health Program in Kikuyo Town, Japan), Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics. DOI: 10.1016/j.archger.2026.106347

Journal information: Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics Provided by Kumamoto University