NCT06898931

Language Intervention Training for Cognitive Protection in High-risk Cardio-Cerebrovascular Elderly Population

A Study of Language Intervention Training for Cognitive Protection in High-risk Cardio-Cerebrovascular Elderly Population

• Status: Not Yet Recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 80 (estimated)
• Sponsor: Second Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 60 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

The global population is aging rapidly, with the number of elderly people with dementia projected to rise sharply, posing significant challenges to quality of life and societal burden.Frequent language switching, such as in interpreting, enhances cognitive abilities by improving attention, flexibility, and memory.Dialect-switching training, similar to interpreting, is a non-invasive method that shows potential for promoting cognitive health in the elderly but remains under-researched.This study aims to investigate the cognitive-enhancing effects of a dialect-switching training program on older adults with vascular risk factors through a six-month intervention.

Detailed description

The global population is aging rapidly, with those aged 65+ expected to reach 16% of the total population by 2050. Aging is linked to increased cognitive impairment risks, including dementia prevalence rates of 5%-10% among the elderly in developed countries. In China, the number of elderly with dementia is projected to soar from 7.4 million to 18 million by 2030 without intervention. This trend poses significant challenges to quality of life and societal burden. Language experiences, particularly frequent switching between languages, enhance cognitive abilities. Interpreting, which demands high-intensity language switching, significantly improves cognitive control and memory. Interpreters' need for rapid language conversion and reliance on attention, flexibility, and inhibition contribute to their cognitive advantages. Similar to interpreting, switching between dialects and standard language requires high-frequency, high-intensity language conversion. This non-invasive training method is suitable for promoting cognitive health in the elderly. However, its potential benefits for cognitive enhancement in this population remain underexplored. This study aims to design a dialect-switching training program simulating interpreting and investigate its potential cognitive-enhancing effects through a six-month intervention in older adults with vascular risk factors.

Conditions

• Vascular Cognitive Impairment No Dementia

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	Dialect Interpreting Training	The intervention group will receive a combination of offline and online language-switching training. The offline intervention will last for 2 months, with three training sessions per week, each lasting 1 hour. The training content will simulate the interpreting process, requiring participants to switch and convert rapidly and accurately between two dialects, covering multiple aspects including listening comprehension, oral expression, and information processing. The online intervention will last for 4 months, during which participants will regularly complete exercises through a language training app or website and upload their assignments.

Timeline

• Start date: 2025-04-15
• Primary completion: 2026-04-20
• Completion: 2026-09-20
• First posted: 2025-03-27
• Last updated: 2025-03-27