Staying Physically Active in Middle Age May Improve Cognition

Moderate levels of vigorous physical activity in middle age, meaning more strenuous than walking, can reduce the risk of cognitive decline, according to a new study from Finland.

The researchers aimed to assess previous evidence suggesting that physical activity is associated with higher cognition in older adults.
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To do so, they examined a prospective cohort of 3050 twins aged 41 to 72 years at baseline who had answered questionnaires in the 1975 and 1981 Finnish Twin Cohorts.

After a mean follow up of 25 years, the researchers conducted telephone interviews to evaluate participants’ cognition, physical activity level, and volume of physical activity. Participants were categorized as cognitively impaired, having mild cognitive impairment, or cognitively healthy.

An initial analysis showed that participating in vigorous physical activity was associated with a lower risk of cognitive impairment for both the 1975 and 1981 cohorts compared with nonparticipation.

In the fully adjusted model—where researchers compared cognition in pairs of twins in which one twin was more physically active than the other—the most active participants had a reduced risk of cognitive decline vs the most sedentary participants.

“Vigorous midlife physical activity was associated with less cognitive impairment but without a clear dose-response association between the volume of physical activity and cognition,” the researchers concluded.

—Amanda Balbi

Reference:

Iso-Markku P, Waller K, Vuoksimaa E, et al. Midlife physical activity and cognition later in life: a prospective twin study.  J Alzheimers Dis. 2016;54(4) In press. http://www.j-alz.com/vol54-4. Accessed September 12, 2016.