Background
It has been reported that the cognitive responses to physical activity (PA) in postmenopausal women vary by parity status, and women with higher parity show a significant association between PA and cognitive function. However, the potential pathways mediating the relationship between PA and cognitive function in women with higher parity remain unclear. The objective of this study was to examine this association in Chinese cohort and further investigate the mediating pathways.
Methods
A total of 2296 postmenopausal women were enrolled from the Baoshan District, from April to December 2020. All participant details were collected by interviewer-administered questionnaires, including personal information, medical history, lifestyle body mass index (BMI), cognitive function, nutritional status, and. In this cross-sectional study, generalized linear regression models and the chain-mediation analysis were used to examine the relationship between PA and cognitive function and the mediating pathways.
Results
There was a significant relationship between PA and cognitive function in the high-parity group (≥ three births). In the fully adjusted generalized linear regression model, PA was significantly associated with cognitive function [β: 0.795, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.251–1.340, P < 0.05]. The chain-mediation analysis showed that depression and nutritional status were two significant mediators, contributing 37.96% of the indirect effect of the overall effect.
Conclusions
Our findings suggest that PA is beneficial for women at a higher risk of cognitive decline, especially those with more than two births, and these benefits are mediated by depression and nutritional status.