Total daily activity is associated with cognition in older persons.
OBJECTIVE
The authors tested the hypothesis that total daily physical activity is related to the level of cognition in older persons.


METHODS
Cross-sectional study.


METHODS
Retirement communities across the Chicago metropolitan area.


METHODS
Five hundred twenty-one older persons without dementia.


METHODS
Participants underwent structured evaluation of cognition and objective measures of total daily physical activity were collected using actigraphy.


RESULTS
In a linear regression model adjusted for age, sex, and education, total daily activity was associated with a global measure of cognition. By contrast, self-report physical activity was not associated with cognition. Further analyses showed that total daily activity was related to all five cognitive subscales.


CONCLUSIONS
Objective measures of total daily physical activity were associated with a broad range of cognitive abilities in older persons. These findings support the link between physical activity and cognition in the elderly.
Buchman
Aron S
AS
Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL 60612, USA. aron_s_buchman@rush.edu
Wilson
Robert S
RS
Bennett
David A
DA
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000368:Aged / Q000523:psychology*; D000369:Aged, 80 and over / Q000523:psychology; D002641:Chicago; D003071:Cognition; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D016552:Ergometry; D015444:Exercise; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012044:Regression Analysis