PUBLICATION

Advancing Mental Well-Being
Through Research

Our publications share research, clinical insights, and multidisciplinary perspectives that advance mental well-being, resilience, and healthy ageing across communities. Through evidence-based knowledge and collaboration, we aim to inspire learning, innovation, and meaningful community impact.

Our Publication

Sort By
Showing 98 results
  • Cognitive Decline, Mindfulness
  • Cortex,
  • 2020

The functional and structural connectomes of telomere length and their association with cognition in mild cognitive impairment

  • Yu, J., Kanchi, M. M., Rawtaer, I., Feng, L., Kumar, A. P., Kua, E. H., & Mahendran, R
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2020.08.006
Using brain scans of 82 older adults with mild memory problems, this study linked how well-connected the brain is to telomere length (a marker of cellular ageing), and showed this connection could help predict memory and planning test scores.
  • Nature-Based Interventions
  • Scientific Reports,
  • 2020

Nature-based activities improve the well-being of older adults

  • Sia, A., Tam, W. W. S., Fogel, A., Kua, E. H., Khoo, K., & Ho, R. C. M
  • DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-74828-w
This study found that a gardening programme in tropical Singapore improved sleep, mood, anxiety levels, and thinking skills in older adults, showing that nature-based activities can benefit health even in a hot, humid climate.
  • Cognitive Decline, Music and Art
  • Aging & Mental Health,
  • 2020

Arts-based interventions to improve cognition in older persons with mild cognitive impairment: A systematic review of randomized controlled trials

  • Fong, Z. H., Tan, S. H., Mahendran, R., Kua, E. H., & Chee, T. T.
  • DOI: 10.1080/13607863.2020.1786802
Reviewing 11 trials, this study found that creative activities — including visual arts, dance, music, and storytelling — generally improved memory and overall thinking skills in older people with mild cognitive decline, though the quality of evidence varied.
  • Cohort Studies
  • BMJ Open,
  • 2020

CHI study: protocol for an observational cohort study on ageing and mental health in community-dwelling older adults

  • Lee, R. Z. Y., Yu, J., Rawtaer, I., Allen, P. F., Bao, Z., Feng, L., Feng, Q., Lee, J. K., Lim, C. T., Ling, L. H., Thang, L. L., Naing, T., Wang, D. Y., Yap, K. Z., Kua, E., & Mahendran, R
  • DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2019-035003
This study protocol describes a long-term project tracking the physical health, memory, sleep, social life, and quality of life of older adults living in the Singapore community over three years, aiming to identify who is most at risk and how best to help them.
  • Cognitive Decline, Mindfulness
  • Journal of Psychiatric Research,
  • 2020

Effect of mindfulness intervention versus health education program on salivary Aβ-42 levels in community-dwelling older adults with mild cognitive impairment: A randomized controlled trial

  • Ng, T. K. S., Slowey, P. D., Beltran, D., Ho, R. C. M., Kua, E. H., & Mahendran, R
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2020.10.038
This trial tested whether mindfulness training could lower a saliva marker linked to Alzheimer's disease in older adults with mild memory problems, compared with a health education programme, extending earlier findings on mindfulness and body markers of brain health.
  • Cognitive Decline, Mindfulness
  • Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences,
  • 2020

Mindfulness practice alters brain connectivity in community-living elders with mild cognitive impairment

  • Fam, J., Sun, Y., Qi, P., Lau, R. C., Feng, L., Kua, E. H., & Mahendran, R
  • DOI: 10.1111/pcn.12972
This trial found that mindfulness training changed how different parts of the brain communicate with each other in older adults with mild memory problems, showing that mindfulness can produce measurable changes in the brain.
  • Cognitive Decline, Mindfulness
  • Translational Psychiatry,
  • 2020

Mindfulness improves inflammatory biomarker levels in older adults with mild cognitive impairment: A randomized controlled trial

  • Ng, T. K. S., Fam, J., Feng, L., Cheah, I. K. M., Tan, C. T. Y., Nur, F., Wee, S. T., Goh, L. G., Chow, W. L., Ho, R. C. M., Kua, E. H., Larbi, A., & Mahendran, R
  • DOI: 10.1038/s41398-020-0696-y
This trial found that nine months of mindfulness training reduced markers of inflammation in the blood of older adults with mild memory problems, compared with a health education programme, suggesting mindfulness may help slow processes linked to cognitive decline.
  • Cognitive Decline, Digital Health
  • JOURNAL OF MEDICAL INTERNET RESEARCH,
  • 2020

Early detection of mild cognitive impairment with in-home sensors to monitor behavior patterns in community-dwelling senior citizens in Singapore: Cross-sectional feasibility study

  • Rawtaer, I., Mahendran, R., Kua, E. H., Tan, H. P., Tan, H. X., Lee, T. S., & Ng, T. P.
  • DOI: 10.2196/16854
This study tested whether simple home sensors could pick up daily behaviour patterns that tell apart older adults with early memory problems from those without, showing this unobtrusive approach is worth developing further for early detection.
  • Cognitive Decline, Music and Art
  • Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society,
  • 2020

The Art of Remediating Age-Related Cognitive Decline: Art Therapy Enhances Cognition and Increases Cortical Thickness in Mild Cognitive Impairment

  • Yu, J., Rawtaer, I., Goh, L. G., Kumar, A. P., Feng, L., Kua, E. H., & Mahendran, R
  • DOI: 10.1017/s1355617720000697
Using brain scans, this study found that art therapy was linked to improved thinking skills and a thickening of a brain region involved in planning and decision-making in older adults with early memory problems, giving physical evidence that art-making can benefit the brain.
  • Hikikomori
  • Frontiers in Psychiatry,
  • 2019

Hikikomori Phenomenon in East Asia: Regional Perspectives, Challenges, and Opportunities for Social Health Agencies

  • Wong, J. C. M., Wan, M. J. S., Kroneman, L., Kato, T. A., Lo, T. W., Wong, P. W. C., & Chan, G. H
  • DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00512
Drawing on researchers from Japan, Hong Kong, South Korea, China, and Singapore, this paper looks at hikikomori — prolonged social withdrawal — and how it shows up differently across East Asian countries, along with the challenges it poses for health and social services.
Scroll to Top