Telehealth-delivered multimodal mind–body intervention for mild cognitive impairment: a randomized feasibility trial toward scalable dementia prevention

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a transitional stage between healthy aging and dementia, underscoring the urgent need for accessible, low-cost, and scalable preventive strategies beyond pharmacological approaches. In this single-blind randomized feasibility trial (NCT06814483), 32 older adults with MCI were assigned to a 12-week, telehealth-delivered, computer-based multimodal mind–body approach (cbMMBA) or an active computer-based cognitive fitness program (cbCFP) used as control condition. Recruitment rate was 66.7%; retention rate was 78.6% vs. 100.0% (cbMMBA vs. cbCFP); intervention fidelity was 85.3% vs. 98.2%; satisfaction score was 4.80 vs. 4.47; and there were no serious intervention-related adverse events. Exploratory analyses indicated domain-specific cognitive improvements in both cbMMBA and cbCFP, favoring cbMMBA in memory, language, and visuospatial abilities, with within-group gains in global cognition. These findings support the feasibility, safety, and acceptability of a fully remote mind–body program for older adults with MCI; however, as a feasibility study, it was not powered to establish efficacy, and larger, longer trials are needed to confirm benefits and scalability for equitable dementia prevention.