The prevalence of dementia and depression in Taiwanese institutionalized leprosy patients, and the effectiveness evaluation of reminiscence therapy--a longitudinal, single-blind, randomized control study.

OBJECTIVE: This study investigated the prevalence of depression and dementia in long-term institutionalized older leprosy patients in Taiwan. We then examined the effectiveness of reminiscence group therapy on depressive symptoms and cognitive function in this population.

METHODS: We recruited 129 long-term institutionalized older leprosy patients in Taiwan and used the Geriatric Depression Scale-Short Form (GDS-SF), the mini mental state examination (MMSE), and the Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) scale for outcome measurement. We then conducted a single-blind, randomized, longitudinal quasi-experimental analysis comparing the pre-test and post-test results of two equivalent groups at a 24-week intervention interval. The intervention in the experimental group was three sessions of reminiscence group therapy per week, whereas that in the control group was weekly individual supportive interviews.

RESULTS: The prevalence of dementia was 45.7-50.4% according to a CDR score ≥ 0.5 and an MMSE score < 25, and the prevalence of depression was 25% based on a GDS-SF score ≥ 7. According to the Wilcoxon signed-rank test, the GDS-SF scores in the experimental group decreased significantly (p = 0.02) after intervention as compared with that in the control group (p = 0.22), whereas the MMSE scores in both groups remained steady.

CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of dementia and depression in long-term institutionalized older leprosy patients in Taiwan is high. Reminiscence group therapy has been confirmed effective on depression in this population, but its effectiveness on cognitive function requires further verification.