Functional Physical Fitness And Cognitive Decline In Elderly Koreans

Abstract

Cognitive declines are associated with modifiable risk factors such as physical activity and fitness in older population. Little is known the relation between cognitive function and physical fitness in Korean elderly. PURPOSE: To investigate the relationship between functional physical fitness and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in a sample of older adults. METHODS: In a cross-sectional design, a total of 415 elderly persons aged 62~91 yrs (108 men and 307 women) underwent body composition assessment and senior fitness test (SF) consisting of strength, flexibility, endurance, and agility/dynamic balance. Korean version of mini-mental state examination (MMSE) and a short-form of geriatric depression scale (GDS) were used to assess cognitive performance and symptoms of depression, respectively. Serum levels of glucose, insulin, and lipids were measured. Homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance was calculated by using fasting glucose and insulin. A composite score of SFT was calculated as a sum of z scores for each domain of the SFT parameters. Subjects were classified as low fit (lower 25 percentile), moderate fit (middle 50 percentile), and high fit (high 25 percentile) based on the com posited score of the SFT parameters. RESULTS: Linear contrast analysis using one-way ANOVA showed significant linear trends for (p<0.001), GDS score (p<0.001) and body fat (p=0.034) across the incremental standardized fitness levels from low to high fit. In particular, a linear increase for MMSE score (p<0.001) was found across the incremental standardized fitness levels. Logistic regression analyses showed that compared to the low-fit group, the moderate- and high-fit groups had significantly lower odds ratios (p<0.001 and p=0.001, respectively) for having MCI even after adjusted for age, sex, education, and the measured risk factors. CONCLUSION: The current findings suggest that physical activity and fitness should be promoted as a preventive means to combat declined cognitive functioning in elderly Koreans. Supported by the National Research Foundation Grant funded by the Korean Government (NRF-2014R1A1A2056473).