Abstract
BackgroundLittle is known about how different physical activity (PA) parameters relate to cognitive function in older adults. Using accelerometers calibrated to detect vertical impacts from ground reaction forces we examined the associations of low, medium and higher impact PA with processing speed, verbal memory and cognitive state in older adults.MethodsParticipants were 69-year old British men and women from the Medical Research Council National Survey of Health and Development included in a vertical impacts and bone sub-study (n = 558; 48.2% female). Counts of low (0.5 < g < 1.0 g), medium (1 < g < 1.5 g), or higher (≥1.5 g) magnitude impacts were derived from vertical acceleration peaks recorded over 7 days by hip-worn accelerometers. Processing speed was assessed by a timed visual letter search task, verbal memory by a 15-word list learning test and cognitive state by the Addenbrooke’s Cognitive Examination (ACE-III). Potential confounders were childhood cognitive ability, adult socioeconomic position, body mass index and depression.ResultsIn initial sex-adjusted models, low magnitude impacts were associated with better performance in all three cognitive function tests; standard deviation differences in test scores per doubling in number of low impacts: letter search speed = 0.10 (95% confidence intervals (CI): 0.03 to 0.16), word learning test = 0.05 (95% CI: 0.00 to 0.11), ACE-III scale = 0.09 (95% CI: 0.03 to 0.14). After adjustment for confounders, differences persisted for letter search speed (0.09; 95% CI: 0.02 to 0.16) but were closer to the null for the word learning test (0.02; 95% CI: − 0.04 to 0.07) and ACE-III scores (0.04; 95% CI: − 0.01 to 0.09). Low impacts remained associated with letter search speed after sensitivity analyses excluding those with functional and musculoskeletal problems, and after adjustment for impacts in higher bands. Modest positive associations between higher magnitude impacts and cognitive test scores were most likely due to chance.ConclusionAccelerometer-derived low impact physical activity was associated with better visual processing speed in 69-year old men and women independently of childhood cognitive ability and other measured confounders. Day-to-day low impact physical activity may therefore have the potential to benefit cognitive health in older adults.
Highlights
Little is known about how different physical activity (PA) parameters relate to cognitive function in older adults
To provide a deeper understanding of the relationship between PA and cognition, in the present study, we aimed to examine the associations between accelerometermeasured PA, classified according to level of vertical impacts, and cognitive performance in a population-based sample of older adults where prior cognitive ability was assessed prospectively in childhood
Study participants were from the Medical Research Council (MRC) National Survey of Health and Development (NSHD), a national sample initially consisting of 5362 British births occurring during 1 week in March 1946 that has to date been regularly followed-up to age 69 years [13]
Summary
Little is known about how different physical activity (PA) parameters relate to cognitive function in older adults. Using accelerometers calibrated to detect vertical impacts from ground reaction forces we examined the associations of low, medium and higher impact PA with processing speed, verbal memory and cognitive state in older adults. The influences of PA on cognition are thought to operate via a number of different underlying pathways depending on specific parameter(s) of PA such as type and intensity. Aerobic exercise for instance is thought to be important for cognition [1,2,3] and studies using accelerometers to measure PA in older adults suggest that both light [4] and higher intensity PA [5] is associated with better cognitive function. When examining the influence of PA on cognition in later life, controlling for reverse causality by taking account of prior cognitive ability is important [7]; very few studies have these measures
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