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Physical Activity Patterns and Cognitive Health among Older Adults in the United States.

Weixin LiYan LiMing WenBian Liu
Published in: Journal of applied gerontology : the official journal of the Southern Gerontological Society (2022)
We assessed the association between physical activity (PA) patterns and cognitive health. Using the 2011-2014 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data among older adults (≥60 years), we defined scoring below the 25th percentile in the average z-scores from 3 cognitive tests as having low cognitive performance. We used latent class analysis to categorize PA patterns and examined their association with cognitive performance using logistic regressions while adjusting for relevant covariates. We identified three PA groups: inactive (50.2%), moderate intensity leisure (34.5%), and high intensity multiple activities (15.3%). Compared to the inactive group, the moderate intensity leisure and high intensity multiple activities groups were less likely to have low cognitive performance (adjusted proportion ratio .85; 95% CI: .75, .94; and .76; 95% CI: .57, .96). The results highlight the need for improving cognitive health of a large proportion of physically inactive older adults by promoting multiple types of PA.
Keyphrases
  • high intensity
  • physical activity
  • resistance training
  • healthcare
  • public health
  • mental health
  • depressive symptoms
  • sleep quality
  • big data
  • body composition
  • human health