Key result
Higher physical activity linked to lower amyloid levels mediating reduced cognitive impairment risk.
Why the study?
Does higher physical activity reduce plasma Aβ levels and the risk of cognitive impairment in cognitively normal older adults?
Cohort (n=149)
Yes
Does higher physical activity reduce plasma Aβ levels and the risk of cognitive impairment in cognitively normal older adults?
Odds Ratio: 1.54 (95% CI 0.76–3.11)
p-value: p=0.22
Greater physical activity in late life predicts reduced plasma Aβ1-42 levels up to 13 years later, providing a potential peripheral biomarker mechanism by which exercise reduces cognitive impairment risk.
Supports plasma Aβ mediation of activity-cognition links in older adults; leaves open causality and need for prospective trials.
Objective Higher levels of physical activity ( PA ) reduce the risk of cognitive impairment, but the underlying mechanisms are unclear. Using longitudinal data from the Cardiovascular Health Study, we examined whether PA predicted plasma A β levels and risk for cognitive decline 9–13 years later. Methods Linear and logistic regressions (controlling for APOE status, age, gender, body mass index, cardiovascular disease, brain white matter lesions, and cystatin C levels) tested associations between PA , A β , and cognitive impairment in a sample of 149 cognitively normal older adults (mean age 83 years). Results More PA at baseline predicted lower levels of A β 9–13 years later. Higher A β levels at year 9 predicted greater risk for cognitive impairment at year 13. Levels of A β at year 9 mediated the relationship between PA and cognitive impairment. Interpretation Greater PA may reduce plasma levels of a neurotoxic peptide at an age when the risk for cognitive impairment is especially high.
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Stillman et al. (2017) conducted a cohort in Cognitively normal older adults (n=149). Higher physical activity vs. Lower physical activity was evaluated on Incidence of cognitive impairment at 13 years (T3) (OR 1.54, 95% CI 0.76-3.11, p=0.22). Higher physical activity predicted lower plasma Aβ1-42 levels 9-13 years later, which in turn mediated the relationship between baseline physical activity and risk for cognitive impairment.
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