Key result
Higher physical activity fractal complexity links to ~0.06 SD better verbal fluency in midlife men.
Why the study?
The importance of fractal stability of fluctuation in physiological patterns in mid-life remains unexplored.
Does higher fractal complexity of daily physical activity associate with better cognitive function in midlife adults?
Cross-Sectional (n=5,097)
Does higher fractal complexity of daily physical activity associate with better cognitive function in midlife adults?
Mean Difference: 0.06 (95% CI 0–0.12)
Greater fractal stability of physical activity in midlife men is associated with better cognitive function, particularly verbal fluency, suggesting it may be an early indicator of cognitive health.
Supports activity fractal complexity as cognitive marker in midlife men; hypothesis-generating and leaves open causality or practice change.
High stability of fluctuation in physiological patterns across fixed time periods suggest healthy fractal complexity, while greater randomness in fluctuation patterns may indicate underlying disease processes. The importance of fractal stability in mid-life remains unexplored. We quantified fractal regulation patterns in 24-h accelerometer data and examined associations with cognitive function in midlife. Data from 5097 individuals (aged 46) from the 1970 British Cohort Study were analyzed. Participants wore thigh-mounted accelerometers for seven days and completed cognitive tests (verbal fluency, memory, processing speed; derived composite z-score). Detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA) was used to examine temporal correlations of acceleration magnitude across 25 time scales (range: 1 min-10 h). Linear regression examined associations between DFA scaling exponents (DFAe) and each standardised cognitive outcome. DFAe was normally distributed (mean ± SD: 0.90 ± 0.06; range: 0.72-1.25). In males, a 0.10 increase in DFAe was associated with a 0.30 (95% Confidence Interval: 0.14, 0.47) increase in composite cognitive z-score in unadjusted models; associations were strongest for verbal fluency (0.10 [0.04, 0.16]). Associations remained in fully-adjusted models for verbal fluency only (0.06 [0.00, 0.12]). There was no association between DFA and cognition in females. Greater fractal stability in men was associated with better cognitive function. This could indicate mechanisms through which fractal complexity may scale up to and contribute to cognitive clinical endpoints.
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Blodgett et al. (2023) conducted a cross-sectional in Cognitive function (n=5,097). Fractal complexity of daily physical activity (DFA scaling exponent) vs. Lower fractal complexity was evaluated on Verbal fluency z-score in males (fully adjusted model) (Beta 0.06, 95% CI 0.00-0.12). In midlife men, a 0.10 increase in the fractal complexity of daily physical activity was associated with a 0.06 standard deviation increase in verbal fluency.
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