Association of non-exercise physical activity in mid- and late-life with cognitive trajectories and the impact of APOE ε4 genotype status: the Mayo Clinic Study of Aging

Janina Krell-Roesch, Jeremy A. Syrjanen, Maria Vassilaki, Bettina Barisch-Fritz, Sandra Trautwein, Klaus Boes, Alexander Woll, Walter K. Kremers, Mary M. Machulda, Michelle M. Mielke, David S. Knopman, Ronald C. Petersen, Yonas E. Geda

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

2 Scopus citations

Abstract

In this study derived from the population-based Mayo Clinic Study of Aging, we investigated whether non-exercise physical activity (PA) was associated with global and domain-specific cognitive trajectories (memory, language, visuospatial skills, attention) and whether the association differed by apolipoprotein E (APOE) ε4 genotype status. We included 2061 community-dwelling individuals aged ≥ 70 years (50.5% males, 26.7% APOE ε4 carriers) who were cognitively unimpaired at baseline and on whom serial cognitive data and self-reported information on non-exercise PA were available. We specifically inquired about non-exercise PA carried out at two time points, i.e., midlife (between 50 and 65 years of age) and late-life (within 1 year prior to assessment) and three intensity levels, i.e., light (e.g., laundry), moderate (e.g., scrubbing floors) and heavy (e.g., hard manual labor). Linear mixed-effect models revealed that engaging in midlife PA of moderate or heavy intensity was associated with significantly less-pronounced decline of z-scores in all cognitive domains. Similarly, participants that engaged in late-life moderate or heavy PA had less decline in visuospatial, attention and global z-scores than non-active peers. These associations varied depending on APOE ε4 carrier status, i.e., APOE ε4 non-carriers but not APOE ε4 carriers that engaged in late-life PA had less decline in cognitive z-scores. In contrast, engaging in midlife PA, irrespective of intensity, was significantly associated with less decline in memory function only among APOE ε4 carriers.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)491-502
Number of pages12
JournalEuropean Journal of Ageing
Volume16
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 1 2019

Keywords

  • APOE ε4
  • Cognitive trajectories
  • Non-exercise physical activity
  • Population-based study

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Health(social science)
  • Geriatrics and Gerontology

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