ArticleEuropean review of aging and physical activity : official journal of the European Group for Research into Elderly and Physical Activity2017
Does the diurnal cycle of cortisol explain the relationship between physical performance and cognitive function in older adults?
Article in European review of aging and physical activity : official journal of the European Group for Research into Elderly and Physical Activity, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.
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Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed, 28 citations in OpenAlex.
- Salivary Cortisol and Cognitive Decline and Alzheimer Disease in Older Adults.JAMA network open · 2026Article
- The role of the circadian timing system in sarcopenia in old age: a scoping review.European geriatric medicine · 2025Article
- Circadian Rhythm Changes in Healthy Aging and Mild Cognitive Impairment.Advanced biology · 2023Review
- A Growing Link between Circadian Rhythms, Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Alzheimer's Disease.International journal of molecular sciences · 2022Review
- Circadian fluctuations in glucocorticoid level predict perceptual discrimination sensitivity.iScience · 2021Article
- Adrenal Aging and Its Implications on Stress Responsiveness in Humans.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2019Review
- Exercise, the diurnal cycle of cortisol and cognitive impairment in older adults.Neurobiology of stress · 2018Review
- The physiology of endocrine systems with ageing.The lancet. Diabetes & endocrinology · 2018Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
9 authors at 3 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundRegular physical activity is a promising strategy to treat and prevent cognitive decline. The mechanisms that mediate these benefits are not fully clear but physical activity is thought to attenuate the harmful effects of chronic psychological stress and hypercortisolism on cognition. However, the circadian pattern of cortisol secretion is complex and it is not known which aspects are most closely associated with increased cognitive function and better physical performance. This is the first study to simultaneously measure cognitive function, the diurnal cycle of salivary cortisol and physical performance in older adults, without cognitive impairment (
resultsRegression analysis showed that better cognitive function was associated with better physical performance. A greater variance in cortisol levels across the day from morning to evening was associated with better cognitive function and physical performance.
conclusionsThe results support the idea that a more dynamic cortisol secretion pattern is associated with better cognitive function and physical performance even in the presence of cognitive impairment, but our results could not confirm a mediating role in this relationship.
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