Can Health Coaching be an Effective Intervention for Alzheimer's Risk?

With over 6 million Americans affected by Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, finding effective prevention methods is essential. According to Campitelli et. al (2023), health coaching is one effective intervention for Alzheimer's disease risk and can be a great tool for decreasing cognitive decline and improving overall well-being. ​Click below to learn more!

Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) impact more than 6 million Americans, resulting in an incredible strain on affected families, caregivers, and the healthcare industry. Thus, research into methods of mitigating Alzheimer’s risk, increasing cognitive health, and disseminating approaches for how to best support these individuals is crucial. ​
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A recent study by Campitelli et. al (2023) highlights the importance of health coaching (HC) and health education (HE) for improving cognitive health and respectively, lessening the risk of ADRD. They recruited 216 adults, aged 45-75 who were at-risk for ADRD, to engage in either the HC intervention or the HE intervention. The HC intervention included guided sessions where the participants collaborated with a health coach in the domains of “goal setting, education, motivation, re-assessment, and personalized, guided progression”. The HE intervention included a biweekly email detailing lifestyle changes that could improve cognitive health.  

Results indicated that both interventions effected positive cognitive change over a 4-month period. Overall, the HE group exhibited significant improvements in neuropsychological test scores, while those in the HC group reported enhancements in self-assessed cognitive abilities.  

One limitation of the study was ensuring that members of the HC group committed to the programs. Some participants did not attend a single health coaching session, and yet their scores were included in the HC cohort results. However, when removing those individuals from the scoring, the results transformed considerably. Both groups conveyed substantial improvement in the neuropsychological cognitive ability assessments, and the global cognition scores were increasingly elevated for the HC group – they displayed significantly greater cognitive improvement in comparison to the HE group. Alzheimer’s risk scores improved solely in the adherent HC group. In summary, adherent HC participants “appeared to be superior to HE in improving self-reported global cognition, increasing modifiable ADRD-protective behaviours, and equally effective improving neuropsychological cognitive ability”.  

It is necessary to underscore the value of adherence. There was a meaningful difference in cognitive score improvements of those who attended sessions in comparison to those who did not. Accordingly, it is vital for individuals to actively engage in the interventions if they want to enforce real change in their health habits.  

Ultimately, the current study suggests that health coaching is efficient in bettering cognitive health and may be superior to conventional health education interventions. This aligns with other research with similar conjectures and demonstrates that HC interventions can result in effectual behavioural changes that help protect against ADRD risk. While the study highlights the importance of sticking to the health coaching program, it also highlights that the HE approaches can still offer valuable cognitive benefits, making it a good option for those who may not be able to participate in health coaching. 

This research underscores the potential of such programs as effective tools for preventing cognitive decline and improving overall well-being. More research needs to be done that includes longer-term interventions and has protocols in place to remedy issues with participant adherence. 
 
 
Work Cited:

Campitelli A, Gills JL, Jones MD, Paulson S, Myers J, Bryk K, Madero EN, Glenn JM, Rodgers CH, Kempkes JA, Gray M. The effect of a digital health coaching and health education protocol on cognition in adults at-risk for Alzheimer's. Geroscience. 2023 Apr;45(2):1147-1159. doi: 10.1007/s11357-022-00711-3. Epub 2022 Dec 17. PMID: 36527582; PMCID: PMC9886777.