Tai chi, mahjong offer hope for dementia patients

It seems two popular pastimes in Hong Kong - mahjong and tai chi - have more than just sweeping hand movements in common. A recent study indicates they can both keep elderly minds sharp.

In a paper published in the Hong Kong Institute of Education researchers suggest integrating mahjong and tai chi into regularly scheduled activities at nursing homes can halt or slow down cognitive decline, even for those suffering from significant dementia.

Played three times a week for two to three months, these activities - which were considered by the researchers as cognitively demanding - showed evidence of long-term benefits for the mind. And they may be more effective than less cognitively demanding activities such as beading and making other simple handicrafts.

Researchers chose 110 ageing residents from nine Hong Kong nursing homes and randomly assigned them to mahjong, tai chi and handicrafts groups, with the latter as the control group.

The participants practised their assigned activity for one hour, three times a week, for a total of 12 weeks. All groups had an instructor and were helped by the researchers' assistants.

The elderly's cognitive performance was tested up to nine months after completing the programme, and those who did tai chi and mahjong scored well in the Mini Mental State Examination, which assesses cognitive impairment through arithmetic, orientation and memory. The strongest improvement was seen in short-term memory.