Associations of Physical Activity Trajectories With Transitions Across Cognitive States: A Multinational Cohort Study.
Chenlu Hong, Guangwen Liu, Boyuan Guan et al.
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In 30 seconds
This multinational cohort study examined whether physical activity (PA) trajectories were associated with transitions among no cognitive impairment, mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and dementia in data from HRS, ELSA, SHARE, and MHAS. Researchers classified PA trajectories and used multistate models, followed by meta-analysis. Compared with lower trajectories, higher PA trajectories were associated with a lower risk of transition from no impairment to MCI (pooled HR = 0.75, 95% CI [0.65, 0.87]) and from MCI to dementia (pooled HR in the meta-analysis = 0.87, 95% CI [0.77, 0.98]); cognitive recovery from MCI was not significantly associated with PA.
Key findings
- Higher PA trajectories were associated with a 25% lower risk of transition from no impairment to MCI (pooled HR = 0.75, 95% CI [0.65, 0.87]).
- Higher PA trajectories were associated with reduced MCI-to-dementia progression (pooled HR in the meta-analysis = 0.87, 95% CI [0.77, 0.98]).
- The meta-analysis found no significant association between PA trajectory and cognitive recovery from MCI.
Why it matters
The findings link sustained patterns of greater physical activity with lower risks of cognitive deterioration across several multinational cohorts. They add evidence relevant to understanding potentially modifiable factors associated with transitions from normal cognition to MCI and from MCI to dementia, while the observational design means the associations do not establish that physical activity caused these differences.
What to keep in mind
As an observational cohort study, it cannot establish causation. The meta-analysis also showed moderate heterogeneity across studies for transitions from no impairment to MCI.