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Effectiveness of photobiomodulation for people with age-related cognitive impairment: a systematic review and meta-analysis

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Abstract

The increasing incident of age-related cognitive impairment worldwide and the lack of pharmaceutical treatments emphasizes the value of non-pharmaceutical therapy. Emerging evidence suggested photobiomodulation (PBM) is a popular intervention to brain disorder; however, it remains unclear the efficacy of PBM for patients with age-related cognitive impairment. The purpose of this systematic review is to compare the different parameters used in PBM, analyze the beneficial effects of PBM as a potential therapy for age-related cognitive impairment. Five electronic database, PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, CINAHL, and PsycINFO, were systematically searched from inception to November 2021. Relevant randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were screened and assessed for risk of bias. Eleven RCTs evaluating PBM interventions were included. The systematic review and meta-analysis has been registered in PROSPERO(CRD42022374562). Results showed that PBM had a significant moderated effect on global cognition function (SMD=0.51, 95% CI [0.162, 0.864], p=0.004). We found that multiple wavelength PBM (SMD=0.648, 95% CI [0.220, 1.075], p=0.003) had significant effects while single wavelength PBM was non-significant (SMD=0.385, 95% CI [−0.168, 0.987], p=0.172). Laser effect (SMD=0.682, 95% CI [0.37, 0,994], p<0.001) was larger than LED effect (SMD=0.582, 95% CI [0.269, 0.895], p<0.001). PBM in clinical setting (SMD=0.468, 95% CI [0.050, 0.887], p=0.028) had significant effect, but there was no significant effect of home-used PBM (SMD=0.616, 95% CI [−0.121, 1.354], p=0.101). The pool effect of multi-modality PBM (SMD=0.720, 95% CI [0.027, 1.414], p=0.040) was significantly higher in the studies of transcranial irradiation (SMD=0.616, 95% CI [−0.121, 1.354], p=0.010). Cumulative irradiation time was a moderator between the PBM and cognitive function improvement. Photobiomodulation have the potential to improve cognitive function in aging adults. Cumulative irradiation duration, light source, device type, penetration modality, and intervention site can affect the effectiveness of PBM intervention.

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Data Availability

The data supporting the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Funding

The study was funded by the National Key R&D Program of China (2020YFC2008804).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Nursing, Peking University, Beijing, China

    Yajing Gao, Ran An, Xiuxiu Huang, Chengfengyi Yang & Qiaoqin Wan

  2. Bryn Mawr College, Bryn Mawr, PA, USA

    Weishen Liu

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  1. Yajing Gao
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  2. Ran An
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  3. Xiuxiu Huang
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  4. Weishen Liu
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  5. Chengfengyi Yang
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Contributions

Yajing Gao: conceptualization; methodology; interpretation of data; writing the original draft; approval of the final version. Ran An: data acquisition and analysis; review and editing; writing the original draft; approval of the final version. Qiaoqin Wan: conceptualization; methodology; review and editing; approval of the final version. Xiuxiu Huang: methodology; review and editing; approval of the final version. Chengfengyi Yang: methodology; interpretation of data; approval of the final version. Weishen Liu: conceptualization; methodology; interpretation of data; approval of the final version.

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Correspondence to Qiaoqin Wan.

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Yajing Gao and Ran An contributed equally to this work.

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Gao, Y., An, R., Huang, X. et al. Effectiveness of photobiomodulation for people with age-related cognitive impairment: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Lasers Med Sci 38, 237 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10103-023-03899-8

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