Associations between physical activity and cognitive functioning among middle-aged and older adults

Abstract

Objectives: To describe aerobic physical activity among middle-aged and older adults by their self-reported cognitive decline and their receipt of informal care for declines in cognitive functioning and most common type of physical activity. Design: Cross-sectional study using data from the 2011 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. Setting: Landline and cellular telephone survey. Participants: 93,082 respondents aged 45 years and older from 21 US states i in 2011. Measurements: Subjective cognitive decline (SCD) was defined as experiencing confusion or memory loss that was happening more often or getting worse during the past 12 months. Regular care was defined as always, usually, or sometimes receiving care from family or friends because of SCD. Using the 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, respondents were classified as being inactive, insufficiently active, or sufficiently active based on their reported aerobic exercise. We calculated weighted proportions and used chi-square tests for differences across categories by SCD status and receipt of care. We estimated the prevalence ratio (PR) for being inactive, insufficiently active, and sufficiently active using separate log-binomial regression models, adjusting for covariates. Results: 12.3% of respondents reported SCD and 23.1% of those with SCD received regular care. 29.6% (95%CI: 28.9–30.4) of respondents without SCD were inactive compared to 37.1% (95%CI: 34.7–39.5) of those with SCD who did not receive regular care and 50.2% (95%CI: 45.2–55.1) of those with SCD who received regular care. 52.4% (95%CI: 51.6–53.2) of respondents without SCD were sufficiently active compared to 46.4% (95%CI: 43.8–49.0) of respondents with SCD and received no regular care and 30.6% (95%CI: 26.1–35.6) of respondents with SCD who received regular care. After adjusting for demographic and health status differences, people receiving regular care for SCD had a significantly lower prevalence of meeting aerobic guidelines compared to people without SCD (PR=0.80, 95%CI: 0.69–0.93, p=0.005). The most prevalent physical activity was walking for adults aged ≥ 45 years old (41–52%) regardless of SCD status or receipt of care. Conclusion: Overall, the prevalence of inactivity was high, especially among people with SCD. These findings suggest a need to increase activity among middle-aged and older adults, particularly those with SCD who receive care. Examining ways to increase walking, potentially by involving informal caregivers, could be a promising way for people with SCD to reduce inactivity and gain the health benefits associated with meeting physical activity guidelines.

Physical fitness and physical activity association with cognitive function and quality of life: baseline cross-sectional analysis of the PREDIMED-Plus trial

“…Some previous reports have suggested a positive association. For www.nature.com/scientificreports www.nature.com/scientificreports/ instance, a study conducted in 2,315 cognitively healthy elder participants from CFAS-Wales study showed that PA was positively associated with cognitive function measured by the Cambridge Cognitive Examination battery of neuropsychological tests 29 and a larger observational study carried out in 93,082 respondents ≥45 years old from 21 US states reported that people with self-reported cognitive decline were more frequently inactive than those without this subjective cognitive decline status 30 . Moreover, the study conducted by Xu et al in 27,651 participants (50-85 years old) showed a dose-response relationship between PA and cognitive function 14 .…”

Clinical validation of nursing diagnosis “00085 Impaired Physical Mobility” in multiple traumas victims

“…In turn, “Alteration in cognitive function,” understood as “any disturbance in the phases of the information process, such as perception, learning, memory, attention, vigilance, reasoning, problem solving, and psychomotor functioning (reaction time, movement time, speed of performance)” ( 40 ) , was present in 53.3% of the patients in the investigation that aimed to characterize hospitalized older adults and associate IPM with sex, age, presence of Diabetes mellitus, systemic arterial hypertension, pain, and physical activity ( 41 ) .…”

Bidirectional Communication Between Brain and Muscle

“…In persons with mild cognitive impairment there is an increase in brain activation after 12 weeks of training (9). Exercise increases mental performance and function in older persons (10)(11)(12)(13). Overall, exercise increases neurogenesis, neuronal maturation, angiogenesis, hippocampal volume and learning and memory in mice (14).…”