{
  "abstract": "Background\n\nIn mild cognitive impairment (MCI) a clinical syndrome associated with, but not an inevitable consequence of, ageing deficits in executive function and cognitive-motor integration can compromise everyday functioning. Few rehabilitation programmes combine occupation-centred strategy training with cognitively demanding movement. This external pilot trial aimed to assess feasibility and generate preliminary effect estimates for adding graded creative dance to a Cognitive Orientation to daily Occupational Performance (CO-OP) programme in older adults with MCI.Methods\n\nAssessor-blinded external pilot randomised controlled trial (ClinicalTrials.gov NCT06644690). Twenty-six community-dwelling adults with MCI were randomised to CO-OP plus creative dance or CO-OP alone (n = 13 per group). CO-OP comprised 24 individual sessions over 8 weeks; the experimental arm added 20-25 min of graded creative dance per session, with total session duration and therapist contact time matched across groups. Outcomes were assessed at baseline, post-intervention (8 weeks), and 3- and 6-month follow-up. The prespecified primary outcome was executive function (Trail Making Test Part B [TMT-B] completion time); secondary outcomes included global cognition (Montreal Cognitive Assessment [MoCA]), visual memory (Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure Test [RCFT]), dual-task cognitive errors, and depressive symptoms and loneliness. Analyses used linear mixed-effects models and generalised estimating equations, with an intention-to-treat sensitivity analysis.Results\n\nFollow-up data were available for 23 participants (88% retention). No intervention-related adverse events occurred; one unrelated serious adverse event (hip fracture from a fall at home) was recorded. For the prespecified primary outcome (executive function, TMT-B), the combined programme showed no between-group advantage. In exploratory secondary analyses, global cognition (MoCA) favoured the combined programme at all post-intervention timepoints in completer analyses (large effect sizes) and after covariate adjustment (baseline score, age and sex) but was attenuated and non-significant under intention-to-treat analysis. Dual-task cognitive errors showed a significant group-by-time interaction, reflecting differing between-group trajectories. These secondary findings are hypothesis-generating.Conclusion\n\nThis external pilot showed no superiority of CO-OP plus creative dance over CO-OP alone for the prespecified primary outcome (executive function). Preliminary signals for global cognition and dual-task accuracy warrant confirmation in an adequately powered definitive trial with a prespecified, clinically meaningful primary endpoint.Trial registration\n\nClinicalTrials.gov, NCT06644690. Registered on 16 October 2024, prospectively before participant enrolment. ( https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06644690 ) CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT06644690 ( https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06644690 ).",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Department of Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Health Sciences, Çankırı Karatekin University, Çankırı, Türkiye. ilkemcerenn@gmail.com.",
    "Department of Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Health Sciences, Çankırı Karatekin University, Çankırı, Türkiye.",
    "Kırıkkale Yüksek İhtisas Hospital, Kırıkkale, Türkiye.",
    "Çankırı State Hospital, Çankırı, Türkiye."
  ],
  "article_type": "research article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 5,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Ilkem Ceren Sigirtmac",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-2740-8618"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Sena Günay",
      "orcid": "0009-0005-1308-7760"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Turgut Şahin",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-5757-2590"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Çağlar Soykan",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-4170-9414"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Ceyhun Türkmen",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-3125-4113"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/dc6q5gf14xv77.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1186/s12877-026-08082-6",
  "fulltext_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13721680",
  "id": "dc6q5gf14xv77",
  "issns": [
    "1471-2318"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42958051",
  "language": "eng",
  "licence": "CC-BY",
  "licence_label": "CC BY",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "heading",
      "Research"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "2738|Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Research"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7172132325",
  "pdf_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13721680?pdf=render",
  "pmcid": "PMC13721680",
  "pmid": "42958051",
  "published": "2026-08-01",
  "publisher": "BMC",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/dc6q5gf14xv77.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-01T00:20:47Z",
      "native_id": "MED:42958051",
      "source": "europepmc",
      "url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42958051"
    },
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-03T12:22:20Z",
      "native_id": "PMC13721680",
      "source": "pmc",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1186/s12877-026-08082-6"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "medicine",
      "origin": "openalex:2738|Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Research",
      "subfield": "psychiatry"
    }
  ],
  "title": "A creative dance-supported CO-OP intervention for older adults with mild cognitive impairment: an assessor-blinded, external pilot randomised controlled trial.",
  "title_text": "A creative dance-supported CO-OP intervention for older adults with mild cognitive impairment: an assessor-blinded, external pilot randomised controlled trial.",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-03T12:22:20Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/dc6q5gf14xv77",
  "venue": "BMC geriatrics",
  "versions": []
}