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Benefit of Light Physical Activity on Executive Function for Individuals With Alzheimer’s Disease

Year: 2018
Type: conference-abstract
Abstract: Physical activity (PA) reduces the risk of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and slows cognitive decline among individuals with AD. The optimal intensity level for PA for beneficial effects on cognition remain unclear. The present study explored differential associations between levels of PA intensity and cognitive performance in a domain that is highly relevant to aging and AD, executive function. Participants were older adults (M = 73.54 years, SD = 6.96) with (N = 47) and without (N = 53) AD. They wore accelerometers (Actigraph GT3X+) 24 hours a day during 7 consecutive days in a free-living environment. Intensity of activity was categorized as light, moderate, or vigorous based on the Freedson Adult Vector Magnitude cutpoints. Participants completed a battery of cognitive tests, including the Trailmaking Test (part B), a common measure of executive function. Using multiple linear regression, the interaction between AD status and percent time engaged in light and moderate PA predicted performance on Trails B, adjusting for age, sex and education. The only significant predictor of Trails B performance was the interaction between time spent in light activity and AD status (β = −1.308, p = .009). Follow up demonstrated the relationship between light activity and performance was significant in AD, but not in controls. These results suggest that engaging in light activity is beneficial to executive function of individuals with AD independent of other intensities of activity. People with AD may cognitively benefit even from light intensity activity.
DOI: 10.1093/geroni/igy023.963
Language: English
Field: Medicine
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,977
OpenAlex ID: W2900284729
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