Increasing light physical activity helps to maintain cognitive function among the community‐dwelling oldest old population: a cross‐sectional study using actigraph from the Arakawa 85+ study

Abstract

AimTo investigate the influence of replacing sedentary time with physical activity on cognitive function using an isotemporal substitution model in a population of community‐dwelling oldest old.MethodsThis cross‐sectional study included residents of the Arakawa ward, Tokyo, who were part of a prospective cohort from the Arakawa 85+ study. We measured physical activity in 136 participants using a triaxial actigraph. Cognitive function was measured using the Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination‐III and participants were divided into a “cognitive decline group” (Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination‐III ≤88) and “cognitive maintain group” (Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination‐III ≥89). Physical activity was divided into three categories: sedentary behavior (≤1.5 metabolic equivalents), light physical activity (>1.5 to <3.0 metabolic equivalents), and moderate‐to‐vigorous physical activity (≥3 metabolic equivalents). Using an isotemporal substitution approach, we applied multiple logistic regression analysis to demonstrate the association between cognitive function and replacing 30 min/day of sedentary behavior with an equal period of light physical activity. Covariates included age, education and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale.ResultsOur findings showed that in men, replacing 30 min of sedentary behavior per day with light physical activity was associated with a 1.47‐fold increase in the odds of maintaining cognitive function. An association between physical activity and cognitive function was not observed in female participants.ConclusionsOur results indicate that substituting sedentary behavior with light physical activity could be helpful in maintaining cognitive function in community‐dwelling oldest old men. These results highlight the importance of behavioral changes to promote cognition. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2020; 20: 773–778.

Device-measured sedentary behavior in oldest old adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis

“…In one study, older age was associated with increased SB: participants age 85 and older were more sedentary than participants age 80–84 ( Davis et al, 2011 ). In two studies, sedentary time differed by gender, with men being more sedentary than women; ( Evenson et al, 2012 , Suzuki et al, 2020 ) however, another study did not find gender differences ( Çukić et al, 2018 ). For race/ethnicity, non-Hispanic whites had higher SB than did Hispanics ( Evenson et al, 2012 ).…”

“…Three of the datasets were nationally representative samples from Norway ( Sagelv et al, 2019 ), Portugal ( Santos et al, 2018 ), and the United States (two waves of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey) ( Dunlop et al, 2015 , Chastin et al, 2014 , Evenson et al, 2012 , Evenson et al, 2014 ). Twelve articles utilized data from large cohort studies ( Sagelv et al, 2019 , Arnardottir et al, 2013 , Berkemeyer et al, 2016 , Chen et al, 2015 , Çukić et al, 2018 , Hooker et al, 2016 , Jefferis et al, 2015 , Okely et al, 2019 , Shaw et al, 2017aa , Shaw et al, 2017bb , Rosenberg et al, 2020 , Suzuki et al, 2020 ).…”

“…The majority of studies used various ActiGraph accelerometer models to measure SB ( Dunlop et al, 2015 , Jefferis et al, 2015 , Sagelv et al, 2019 , Santos et al, 2018 , Chastin et al, 2014 , Evenson et al, 2012 , Evenson et al, 2014 , Arnardottir et al, 2013 , Berkemeyer et al, 2016 , Rosenberg et al, 2020 , Suzuki et al, 2020 , Davis et al, 2011 , Lohne-Seiler et al, 2014 ). Two studies used Active Style Pro ( Chen et al, 2015 , Yonemoto et al, 2019 ) and one study each used Actical ( Hooker et al, 2016 ) and GENEActiv ( Ryan et al, 2019 ) accelerometers.…”

“…Reported sedentary times ranged from 7.6 to 13.4 h during the waking day. One study reported means of 13.3 and 14.2 sedentary h/day (for women and men respectively), but did not exclude sleep time ( Suzuki et al, 2020 ). Some articles used a percentage of the waking day to report sedentary time, which ranged from 68.0% to 72.5% ( Chastin et al, 2014 , Çukić et al, 2018 , Okely et al, 2019 , Shaw et al, 2017aa , Shaw et al, 2017bb ).…”

“…Only seven articles examined factors associated with SB in the ≥80 age group; ( Çukić et al, 2018 , Davis et al, 2011 , Evenson et al, 2012 , Okely et al, 2019 , Shaw et al, 2017bb , Shaw et al, 2017aa , Suzuki et al, 2020 ) few of these factors were shown to be significant. In one study, older age was associated with increased SB: participants age 85 and older were more sedentary than participants age 80–84 ( Davis et al, 2011 ).…”