Cardio Fitness in Young Adulthood Leads to Better Thinking Skills in Middle Age

In addition to its known physical benefits, cardiovascular fitness in young adulthood also improves the mind—well into middle age, according to a new study in Neurology. Researchers found that study participants with better cardiorespiratory fitness under age 25 had better verbal memory and faster psychomotor speeds 25 years later.

“The CARDIA study … shows that association of ‘better thinking skills’ in middle age with higher fitness (levels) across the range of fitness—moderate fitness is better than low fitness, and high fitness is better than moderate fitness,” says study author David Jacobs Jr., PhD, the Mayo Professor of Public Health at the University of Minnesota-Minneapolis.

“People should use their bodies, they should move their bodies,” he says. “For those capable of high-intensity activity, such as running or jogging, those are good activities. More generally, people should use their bodies to participate in their families, jobs, and community.” 

Jacobs and co-investigators in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) Study wanted to look at whether greater cardiorespiratory fitness is associated with better cognitive function 25 years later.

A total of 2,747 healthy young adults under the age of 25 completed treadmill tests during the study’s first year and then again two decades later. They also took cognitive tests 25 years later to measure verbal memory, psychomotor speed, and executive function.

The treadmill tests required study participants to walk or run while both speed and incline increased until they either couldn’t continue or experienced shortness of breath. During the first test, the participants lasted an average of 10 minutes, which decreased by 2.9 minutes when they were tested 20 years later.

Researchers found that for every extra minute participants lasted on the treadmill during the first test, they recalled 0.12 more words correctly during the memory test and accurately replaced 0.92 more numbers with symbols in the psychomotor speed test 25 years later.

Individuals with smaller time decreases on the treadmill 20 years later were also more likely to perform better on the executive function test, compared with those who had larger decreases.

“The differences in memory, speed of processing, and ability to manipulate conflicting information were not large, but seen another way, those with lower fitness are at a systematic disadvantage in middle age compared to others, which could affect salary, family life, and potential in many areas,” Jacobs explains.

The CARDIA Study, a unique lifecourse study that first examined patients at ages 18 to 30, is about to enter its 9th detailed examination at ages 48 to 60, 30 years later. “The hope is to carry this through old age, which will give a glimpse of how youth affects old age,” Jacobs says. “We have already published several studies showing relationships of youth lifestyle and physical status with cognitive function in late middle age, [and] more papers are in the pipeline.” 

He and his colleagues hope to continue their study of cognitive function, depending on National Institutes of Health funding.

—Colleen Mullarkey

Reference

Zhu N, Jacobs DR, Schreiner PJ, Yaffe K, Bryan N, Launer LJ, et al. Cardiorespiratory fitness and cognitive function in middle age: The CARDIA Study. Neurology. April 2, 2014. [Epub ahead of print]. DOI: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000000310.