Comparison of the Effectiveness of Vitamin D, Integrated Cognitive Rehabilitation Therapy, Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation on Depression in Patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment

Depression is a predictor of cognitive impairment in aged people. This study aimed to compare the effect of Vitamin D, integrated cognitive rehabilitation therapy (CRT), transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS), and a combination of CRT and tACS on depression in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI).

The present study is a semi-experimental clinical trial study in which 32 people with mild cognitive impairment were randomly assigned to four treatment groups after completing the Beck Depression Test and the Mocha Test. CRT, tACS, and CRT + tACS interventions were held twice a week for 12 sessions each. Each session of CRT and tACS lasted 20 minutes, and each session of cognitive rehabilitation treatment plus TACS was performed for 40 minutes, and the group receiving vitamin D; received 20 micrograms equivalent to 800 IU of vitamin D daily for six weeks. Before conducting the research, the Beck depression test (BDI) and MoCA test were taken, and at the end of the research, BDI was taken to check the effectiveness of treatments on reducing depression. To analyze the results, the repeated measurement statistical test with a significance level of less than 0.05 was used.

The results showed that the depression scores decreased significantly in the cognitive rehabilitation intervention group from 11 to 9. However, no significant difference was observed in the transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) and combination of CRT and tACS and vitamin D groups.

According to the present study, CRT decreased depression scores in MCI, and it is more effective in reducing depression compared to tACS, CRT+tACS, and vitamin D.