Dose–Response Association Between Physical Activity (Daily MIMS, Peak 30-Minute MIMS) and Cognitive Function Among Older Adults: NHANES 2011–2014

Abstract

Background The purpose of this study was to determine the dose-response association between habitual physical activity (PA) and cognitive function using a nationally representative dataset of U.S. older adults aged ≥ 60 years. Methods We used data from the 2011–2014 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (n = 2441, mean [SE] age: 69.1 [0.2] years, 54.7% females). Cognitive function was assessed using the Digit Symbol Substitution Test (DSST) and Animal Fluency Test (AFT). Habitual PA was collected using a tri-axial accelerometer worn on participants’ non-dominant wrist. PA was expressed as two metrics using monitor-independent movement summary (MIMS) units: the average of Daily MIMS (MIMS/day) and peak 30-minute MIMS (Peak-30MIMS; the average of the highest 30 MIMS mins/day). Sample weight-adjusted multivariable linear regression was performed to determine the relationship between each cognitive score and MIMS metric while adjusting for covariates. Results After controlling for covariates, for each 1000-unit increase in Daily MIMS, DSST score increased (β-coefficient [95% CIs]) by 0.67 (0.40, 0.93), while AFT score increased by 0.13 (0.04, 0.22); for each one-unit increase in Peak-30MIMS, DSST score increased by 0.56 (0.42, 0.70), while AFT score increased by 0.10 (0.05, 0.15), all p-values <0.001. When including both MIMS metrics in a single model, the association between Peak-30MIMS and cognitive scores remained significant (p-values <0.01), whereas Daily MIMS did not. Conclusions Our findings suggest that higher PA (both daily accumulated and peak effort) is associated with better cognitive function in the U.S. older adult population.

Accelerated Cognitive Function Decline in Community-Dwelling Older Adults during COVID-19 Pandemic: The Korean Frailty and Aging Cohort Study (KFACS)

“…There may be several reasons for the accelerated cognitive decline in community-dwelling older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic. Higher physical activity levels have been shown to be associated with better cognitive function in older adults [ 21 ]. Therefore, a reduction in physical activity due to social distancing may be associated with subjective memory decline in adults [ 22 ].…”

Dietary Habits Modify the Association of Physical Exercise with Cognitive Impairment in Community-Dwelling Older Adults

“…However, the authors of some studies concluded that all types and all levels of physical exercise played a significant protective role against cognitive decline [ 24 , 25 ], whereas other studies reported inconsistent findings. A dose–response relationship between physical activity and cognitive function was found in U.S. older adults (mean age: 69 years), with higher physical activity (both daily accumulated and peak effort) associated with better cognitive function [ 26 ]. Kim et al found that a higher frequency of physical exercise could prevent MCI from progressing to dementia [ 27 ].…”

Dose–response associations of Monitor‐Independent Movement Summary with health‐related fitness in youth

“…Average MIMS/day was used as a metric to quantify the total daily volume of movement 16,17 . Calculation of Peak 60‐min MIMS and Peak 30‐min MIMS involved rank ordering a participant's MIMS/min values within each valid day, calculating the mean of the highest 60 and 30 values, respectively, and then taking the average of the resulting MIMS/min values across all valid days 30 . Use of Peak 60‐min MIMS aligns with the daily recommendations for aerobic moderate‐to‐vigorous PA in children and adolescents, 31 and partially aligns with the Peak 60‐min stepping cadence that has been used in previous work 32 .…”