Ikigai interventions for primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention of dementia

Abstract

Ikigai is a Japanese concept, meaning “a reason for being,” and having ikigai, or a purpose in life, has been shown to contribute to dementia prevention and healthy longevity. Primary prevention efforts to stop the occurrence of dementia have focused on multimodal lifestyle interventions, including nutritional guidance, exercise, cognitive training, and control of vascular risk factors, with little research on psychological interventions. Conversely, rehabilitation programs to prevent the progression of dementia have involved various psychological interventions as the focus of rehabilitation is to promote having a meaningful role in life, which is ikigai. As dementia is a disorder on a continuous spectrum of functional decline, ikigai interventions that assist with realizing a purpose in life and modifying ikigai in response to functional decline can help maintain one's identity following the onset of dementia when continuously implemented before and after dementia onset.

Keywords

• Ikigai
• Dementia
• Dementia prevention
• Mild cognitive impairment
• Rehabilitation
• Quality of life