Is there a bidirectional association between sedentary behaviour and cognitive decline in older adults? Findings from the Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing

Abstract

Research on whether sedentary behaviour (SB) is related to cognitive decline in older individuals is conflicting, potentially caused by methodological differences in previous studies. To inform public health policies, we analysed both the forward and reverse association across four-years between subjective TV time and objectively-measured SB and four cognitive outcome measures in older adults. The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA) quantified time spent watching TV using a questionnaire and objective physical activity patterns with a GENEActiv accelerometer. Mixed model analysis examined whether these two measures of SB related to changes in cognitive function (immediate and delayed recall, MMSE, and animal naming task) during a four-year follow-up period. Furthermore, the reverse association between changes in cognition over the preceding four years and SB was investigated. We included 1,276 participants (67 ± 9 years). Longitudinally, every hour of objective SB per day was associated with a −0.01 (95%CI = −0.03;−0.00) lower MMSE score per year. Reversely, a worse decline in immediate and delayed recall over the preceding waves was related to slightly more objective SB (B = −0.24 (95%CI = −0.41;−0.07)) and TV time (B = −0.25 (95%CI = −0.48;−0.03)) at the end of those four years. To conclude, in healthy older individuals, higher levels of objective SB are related to cognitive decline across a four-year follow-up, although the magnitude and clinical relevance are questionable. As preceding cognitive decline is associated with more SB across follow-up, this suggests that a bidirectional association is plausible.

Associations of Objectively-Measured Sedentary Time and Patterns with Cognitive Function in Non-Demented Japanese Older Adults: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…The present findings of the accelerometer-measured total sedentary time are reflected within the relevant evidence, which has generally been mixed [ 16 , 34 ]. Some studies reported a statistically significant association between higher objectively measured total sedentary time and poor cognitive function in older adults [ 17 , 18 ], but others reported no such association [ 19 , 20 , 35 , 36 , 37 ]. Moreover, a recent study even reported that accelerometer-assessed total sedentary time was positively associated with cognitive function in healthy middle-aged adults [ 38 ].…”

“…To date, several studies have investigated the associations between objectively-measured sedentary time and cognitive functions, but yielded conflicting results [ 16 ]. For instance, several studies showed an inverse association that longer sedentary time was associated with poor cognitive functions [ 17 , 18 ], but others found no associations [ 19 , 20 ]. Furthermore, most of those studies merely assessed the associations for the total sedentary time [ 16 ]; few studies have addressed the associations for patterns of sedentary time, that is how is sedentary time structured (e.g., sedentary time accumulated in prolonged bouts and bout length) [ 21 ].…”

Real-time location systems technology in the care of older adults with cognitive impairment living in residential care: A scoping review

“…They identified that fewer depressive symptoms were significantly associated with more time away from a resident’s room. Cognitive impairment increases the risk for depressive symptoms ( 48 , 49 ), and depression has been linked to increased sedentary time ( 50 ). Similarly, depression in nursing homes has been historically under-recognized and under-treated ( 51 ).…”

Association of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder With Accelerated Cognitive Decline in Middle-aged Women

“…For each task, scores were standardized using means and SDs at baseline. We created 2 composite scores, with higher scores reflecting better cognitive function: (1) psychomotor speed and attention, comprising the mean of the standardized detection and identification scores, and (2) learning and working memory, comprising the mean of the standardized one card learning and one back scores. These composite scores were validated in our sample using confirmatory factor analysis 19 and were found to be sensitive measures of cognitive decline among other samples.…”

“…Longitudinal studies have been performed among young persons, 17,18,24 soldiers, 16,18,25 and Holocaust survivors 26 ; most of these studies have been of small or moderate size 16,18,[24][25][26] and have reported mixed findings. It remains unknown (1) whether PTSD is associated with subsequent cognitive decline; (2) the extent to which health conditions (eg, hypertension and diabetes) and behaviors (eg, smoking and alcohol consumption) are associated with both PTSD and cognitive decline 27,28 ; and (3) the extent to which depression, which frequently co-occurs with PTSD 29 and has been associated with cognitive decline, 30 accounts for any association.…”