Association between physical-activity trajectories and cognitive decline in adults 50 years of age or older

• Published in: Epidemiology and psychiatric sciences 2021, Vol.30, Article e79
• Main Authors: Cheval, Boris, Csajbók, Zsófia, Formánek, Tomáš, Sieber, Stefan, Boisgontier, Matthieu P., Cullati, Stéphane, Cermakova, Pavla
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Activities of daily living; Age; Aging; Cognition; Cognitive Dysfunction - epidemiology; Exercise; Female; Growth models; Health Surveys; Households; Humans; Longitudinal studies; Male; Memory, Short-Term; Older people; Original; Original Article; Psychiatry; Sociodemographics
• ISSN: 2045-7960; 2045-7979; 2045-7979
• DOI: 10.1017/S2045796021000688

To investigate the associations of physical-activity trajectories with the level of cognitive performance and its decline in adults 50 years of age or older. We studied 38729 individuals (63 ± 9 years; 57% women) enrolled in the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE). Physical activity was self-reported and cognitive performance was assessed based on immediate recall, verbal fluency, and delayed recall. Physical-activity trajectories were estimated using growth mixture modelling and linear mixed effects models were used to investigate the associations between the trajectories and cognitive performance. The models identified two physical-activity trajectories of physical activity: constantly-high physical activity (N=27634: 71%) and decreasing physical activity (N=11095; 29%). Results showed that participants in the decreasing physical-activity group exhibited a lower level of cognitive performance compared to the high physical-activity group (immediate recall: ß=0.94; 95% confidence interval [CI]=0.92 to 0.95; verbal fluency: ß=0.98; 95% CI=0.97 to 0.98; delayed recall: ß=0.95; 95% CI=0.94 to 0.97). Moreover, compared with participants in the constantly-high physical-activity group, participants in the decreasing physical-activity group showed a steeper decline in all cognitive measures (immediate recall: ß=-0.04; 95% CI=-0.05 to -0.04; verbal fluency: ß=-0.22; 95% CI=-0.24 to -0.21; delayed recall: ß=-0.04; 95% CI=-0.05 to -0.04). Physical-activity trajectories are associated with the level and evolution of cognitive performance in adults over 50 years. Specifically, our findings suggest that a decline in physical activity over multiple years is associated with a lower level and a steeper decline in cognitive performance.