Year: 2015
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: OBJECTIVE: Neighborhood characteristics may be important for promoting walking, but little research has focused on older adults, especially those with cognitive impairment. We evaluated the role of neighborhood characteristics on cognitive function and decline over a 2-year period adjusting for measures of walking. METHOD: In a study of 64 older adults with and without mild Alzheimer's disease (AD), we evaluated neighborhood integration and connectivity using geographical information systems data and space syntax analysis. In multiple regression analyses, we used these characteristics to predict 2-year declines in factor analytically derived cognitive scores (attention, verbal memory, mental status) adjusting for age, sex, education, and self-reported walking. RESULTS: Neighborhood integration and connectivity predicted cognitive performance at baseline, and changes in cognitive performance over 2 years. The relationships between neighborhood characteristics and cognitive performance were not fully explained by self-reported walking. DISCUSSION: Clearer definitions of specific neighborhood characteristics associated with walkability are needed to better understand the mechanisms by which neighborhoods may impact cognitive outcomes. These results have implications for measuring neighborhood characteristics, design and maintenance of living spaces, and interventions to increase walking among older adults. We offer suggestions for future research measuring neighborhood characteristics and cognitive function.
Institutions: University of Kansas, University of Utah
Language: English
Subfield: Psychiatry and Mental health
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,000
Awards: Longitudial Study of Cardiorespiratory Fitness in Alzheimer's Disease, Energy Metabolism and Brain Changes with Age and Alzheimer's Disease, Heartland Institute for Clinical and Translational Research, General Clinical Research Center, Cardiorespiratory Fitness in Alzheimer's Disease, Aerobic Fitness in Slowing the Progression of Alzheimer's Disease, Dose-Response Study of Exercise in Older Adults, University of Kansas Alzheimer's Disease Core Centers, Heartland Institute for Clinical and Translational Research
OpenAlex ID: W2139946842