Cochrane · systematic review · CD013243
Animal‐assisted therapy for dementia
Lai, NM, Chang, SMW, Ng, SS, et al. · Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews · 2019 · Cochrane Library
Dementia and Cognitive ImprovementAMSTAR 2: not assessed
SoF tableOnly the outcomes this review put in its Summary of Findings table are listed (the Cochrane Handbook caps them at about seven per comparison). Its other analyses are not shown here.
Questions
26
current version
GRADE rated
15
No studies
11
Included studies
NR
No studies 11 · 42.3%Ungraded 0 · 0%Very low 2 · 7.7%Low 12 · 46.2%Moderate 1 · 3.8%High 0 · 0%
Ungraded means an effect was reported without a GRADE rating; it is not a gap. No studies means the review found nothing to answer the question. The six categories are a display order, not a score.
Questions and results
Animal‐assisted therapy (AAT) compared to no AAT for dementia
Population: dementia
| Outcome | Effect | Evidence | Status / GRADE |
|---|---|---|---|
Affect and emotional well‐being: depression measured using CSDD (0–19, higher score indicates more severe depressive symptoms) Animal‐assisted therapy (AAT) vs no AAT | no estimate extracted | 2 studies · 83 participants | Low Downgraded: risk of bias, imprecision |
Social functioning measured using MOSES, Withdrawn Behaviour subscale (8‐ 32, higher score indicates more severe withdrawn behaviour) Animal‐assisted therapy (AAT) vs no AAT | no estimate extracted | 1 study · 58 participants | Low Downgraded: risk of bias |
Behaviour measured using NHBPS (0–116, higher score indicates more severe behaviour problem), NPI (0–144, higher score indicates more severe neuropsychiatric symptoms) or MOSES Disoriented Behaviour subscale (8–32, higher score indicates more seve... Animal‐assisted therapy (AAT) vs no AAT | no estimate extracted | 3 studies · 142 participants | Very low Downgraded: risk of bias, inconsistency |
Agitation or irritability measured using CMAI (14–70, higher score indicates more severe agitation or irritability), BARS (10–70, higher score indicates more severe agitation or irritability) or MOSES Irritability subscale (9–36, higher score indi... Animal‐assisted therapy (AAT) vs no AAT | no estimate extracted | 3 studies · 143 participants | Very low Downgraded: risk of bias, imprecision |
Health‐related quality of life measured using QUALID (12–45, higher score indicates poorer quality of life) Animal‐assisted therapy (AAT) vs no AAT | no estimate extracted | 3 studies · 164 participants | Moderate Downgraded: risk of bias |
Adverse events Animal‐assisted therapy (AAT) vs no AAT | no estimate extracted | NR | No studies |
Physical functioning, measured using Barthel Index for ADL (0–100, higher score indicates better abilities) Animal‐assisted therapy (AAT) vs no AAT | no estimate extracted | 1 study · 37 participants | Low Downgraded: risk of bias |
Physical functioning: self‐care ability measured using MOSES Self‐Care Functioning subscale (8–32, higher score indicates poorer function) Animal‐assisted therapy (AAT) vs no AAT | no estimate extracted | 1 study · 58 participants | Low Downgraded: risk of bias |
Animal‐assisted therapy (AAT (live animal)) compared to robotic animals for dementia
Population: dementia
| Outcome | Effect | Evidence | Status / GRADE |
|---|---|---|---|
Affect and emotional well‐being: depression Animal‐assisted therapy (AAT (live animal)) vs robotic animals | no estimate extracted | NR | No studies |
Social functioning: duration of physical contact Animal‐assisted therapy (AAT (live animal)) vs robotic animals | no estimate extracted | 1 study · 68 participants | Low Downgraded: risk of bias, imprecision |
Social functioning: duration of talk directed at a person Animal‐assisted therapy (AAT (live animal)) vs robotic animals | no estimate extracted | 1 study · 68 participants | Low Downgraded: risk of bias, imprecision |
Social functioning: duration of talk in total Animal‐assisted therapy (AAT (live animal)) vs robotic animals | no estimate extracted | 1 study · 68 participants | Low Downgraded: risk of bias, imprecision |
Behaviour measured using NPI (0–144, higher score indicates more severe neuropsychiatric symptoms) Animal‐assisted therapy (AAT (live animal)) vs robotic animals | no estimate extracted | 1 study · 78 participants | Low Downgraded: risk of bias |
Agitation and irritability Animal‐assisted therapy (AAT (live animal)) vs robotic animals | no estimate extracted | NR | No studies |
Health‐related quality of life measured using QUALID (12–45, higher score indicates poorer quality of life) Animal‐assisted therapy (AAT (live animal)) vs robotic animals | no estimate extracted | 1 study · 78 participants | Low Downgraded: risk of bias |
Adverse events Animal‐assisted therapy (AAT (live animal)) vs robotic animals | no estimate extracted | NR | No studies |
Physical functioning: activities of daily living Animal‐assisted therapy (AAT (live animal)) vs robotic animals | no estimate extracted | NR | No studies |
Animal‐assisted therapy (AAT (live animal)) compared to soft toy cat for dementia
Population: dementia
| Outcome | Effect | Evidence | Status / GRADE |
|---|---|---|---|
Affect and emotional well‐being: depression Animal‐assisted therapy (AAT (live animal)) vs soft toy cat | no estimate extracted | NR | No studies |
Social functioning: duration of physical contact Animal‐assisted therapy (AAT (live animal)) vs soft toy cat | no estimate extracted | 1 study · 64 participants | Low Downgraded: risk of bias, imprecision |
Social functioning: duration of talk directed at a person Animal‐assisted therapy (AAT (live animal)) vs soft toy cat | no estimate extracted | 1 study · 64 participants | Low Downgraded: risk of bias, imprecision |
Social functioning: duration of talk in total Animal‐assisted therapy (AAT (live animal)) vs soft toy cat | no estimate extracted | 1 study · 64 participants | Low Downgraded: risk of bias, imprecision |
Behaviour Animal‐assisted therapy (AAT (live animal)) vs soft toy cat | no estimate extracted | NR | No studies |
Agitation and irritability Animal‐assisted therapy (AAT (live animal)) vs soft toy cat | no estimate extracted | NR | No studies |
Health‐related quality of life Animal‐assisted therapy (AAT (live animal)) vs soft toy cat | no estimate extracted | NR | No studies |
Adverse events Animal‐assisted therapy (AAT (live animal)) vs soft toy cat | no estimate extracted | NR | No studies |
Physical functioning: activities of daily living Animal‐assisted therapy (AAT (live animal)) vs soft toy cat | no estimate extracted | NR | No studies |