An exploratory study of the effect of mahjong on the cognitive functioning of persons with dementia

Authors

Sheung Tak CHENG, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Cheung Ming, Alfred CHAN, Lingnan University, Hong Kong
Edwin C. S. YU, Kwai Chung Hospital, Hong Kong

Document Type

Journal article

Source Publication

International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry

Publication Date

7-1-2006

Volume

21

Issue

7

First Page

611

Last Page

617

Publisher

John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Keywords

Dementia, mahjong, MMSE, digit memory, verbal memory

Abstract

Objective: To explore the effect of an activity treatment—mahjong—on the cognitive functioning of persons with mild-to-moderate dementia. Method: Participants were 62 older persons (Mage = 83.94, SD = 7.58) who met DSM-IV diagnosis of any dementia condition, had an initial Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score ≤ 24, and were able to play, yet not having played mahjong for the past six months. They were randomly assigned to play either twice (n = 33) or four times (n = 29) a week over a 16-week duration. Digit forward span, digit forward sequence, verbal memory and MMSE were measured at baseline, post-test and 1-month follow-up. Results: Regardless of frequency of playing, mahjong produced consistent gains across all cognitive performance measures. It had large effect sizes on digit forward memory (1.0–1.4 for both span and sequence), moderate-to-large effect sizes on verbal memory (0.5–0.9), and a moderate effect size on MMSE (around 0.6). The effects lasted after mahjong had been withdrawn for a month, suggesting that constant practice is not necessary to achieve therapeutic effect once an initial threshold is attained. Conclusion: Mahjong is a viable treatment option for dementia. Because mahjong therapy basically does not require professional supervision and can be implemented as widely as space allows at a given time, the potential benefits of integrating mahjong into the daily routines of an institution are enormous vis-à-vis minimal, if any, cost to the institution.

DOI

10.1002/gps.1531

Print ISSN

08856230

E-ISSN

10991166

Publisher Statement

Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

Access to external full text or publisher's version may require subscription.

Full-text Version

Publisher’s Version

Language

English

Recommended Citation

Cheng, S. T., Chan, C. M. A., & Yu, E. C. S. (2006). An exploratory study of the effect of mahjong on the cognitive functioning of persons with dementia. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 21(7), 611-617. doi: 10.1002/gps.1531