A - 98 Physical Activity and the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS) in Older Adults with Dementia with Lewy Bodies (DLB) and Alzheimer’s Disease (ad)

Abstract

Abstract Objective Past studies have suggested an association between physical activity and neuropsychological scores in cognitively healthy older adults, but similar studies in adults with dementia have been inconsistent. This pilot study is one of the first to consider dementia subtypes and the relationship between daily physical activity and cognitive performance on the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS). Methods We administered the RBANS to participants with DLB (n = 11) and ad (n = 8) and then measured physical activity using triaxial wGT3X-BT actigraphy devices for two weeks. Two-sample t-tests were performed comparing participants with DLB and ad on physical activity, RBANS domains, and UPDRS scores (see Table 1). Linear mixed models with a random intercept were used to assess the association between activity counts and RBANS scores, adjusting for dementia subtype. Results Compared to participants with DLB, ad participants were significantly more active (p = 0.035) and had lower UPDRS Part III scores (p < 0.001). We found no significant association between daily activity counts and total RBANS scores (Beta = −2.77, 95% CI -6.0, −0.47, p = 0.091). Conclusions To our knowledge, this is the first study to compare differences between physical activity and RBANS scores, accounting for dementia subtypes. Participants with DLB were less physically active than participants with ad; this is unsurprising given that parkinsonian signs and symptoms are a core DLB feature. We found no significant associations between daily activity and cognitive performance, but we lacked the sample size to account for potential contributory variables. Larger explorations of physical activity, RBANS domain score, and dementia subtype are necessary.