ArticleThe journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences2022
Vigorous Physical Activity and Cognitive Trajectory Later in Life: Prospective Association and Interaction by Apolipoprotein E e4 in the Nurses' Health Study.
Article in The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 12 citations in OpenAlex.
- Physical Activity and Cognitive Decline Among Older Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.JAMA network open · 2024Pooled it
- Psychometric validation of the seven-time dimensions scale: a measure of daily time experience quality for nurses' mental health.BMC nursing · 2026Article
- Midlife physical activity and late-life subjective cognitive complaints in women.The Gerontologist · 2026Article
- The association between PMEnvironmental research · 2026Article
- Late-life physical activity, midlife-to-late-life activity patterns, APOE ε4 genotype, and cognitive impairment among Chinese older adults: a population-based observational study.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2025Observational
- Midlife Residential Greenness and Late-Life Cognitive Decline among Nurses' Health Study Participants.Environmental health perspectives · 2024Article
- Geroscience and pathology: a new frontier in understanding age-related diseases.Pathology oncology research : POR · 2024Review
- The Relationship Between Physical Activity and Non-Modifiable Risk Factors on Alzheimer's Disease and Brain Health Markers: A UK Biobank Study.Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD · 2024Review
- The Role of Methionine-Rich Diet in Unhealthy Cerebrovascular and Brain Aging: Mechanisms and Implications for Cognitive Impairment.Nutrients · 2023Review
- High-intensity walking in midlife is associated with improved memory in physically capable older adults.Alzheimer's research & therapy · 2023Article
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
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Abstract
backgroundThe apolipoprotein E (APOE) e4 allele is a well-established genetic risk factor of brain aging. Vigorous physical activity may be particularly important in APOE-e4 carriers, but data have been inconsistent, likely due to differences in the timing of the physical activity assessment, definition of cognitive decline, and/or sample size.
methodsWe prospectively evaluated the association between vigorous physical activity and cognition assessed at least 9 years later, according to APOE-e4 carrier status. Biennially from 1986, Nurses' Health Study participants reported their leisure-time physical activities. Starting in 1995-2001 and through 2008, participants (aged 70+ years) underwent up to 4 repeated cognitive telephone assessments (6 tasks averaged together using z-scores).
resultsAmong 7252 women, latent process mixed models identified 3 major patterns of cognitive change over 6 years: high-stable, medium-stable, and decline. Taking the high-stable cognitive trajectory as the outcome reference in multinomial logistic regressions, highest tertile of vigorous physical activity (≥5.9 metabolic-equivalent [MET]-hours/wk) compared to lowest tertile (≤0.9 MET-hours/wk) was significantly associated with subsequent lower likelihood of the medium-stable trajectory in the global score (odds ratio [OR] [95% CI] = 0.72 [0.63, 0.82]), verbal memory (OR [95% CI] = 0.78 [0.68-0.89]), and telephone interview of cognitive status score (OR [95% CI] = 0.81 [0.70-0.94]). Vigorous physical activity was also associated with lower likelihood of decline in category fluency (OR [95% CI] = 0.72 [0.56, 0.92]). We observed some evidence (p-interaction = .07 for the global score) that the association was stronger among APOE-e4 carriers than noncarriers (OR [95% CI] = 0.60 [0.39, 0.92] vs 0.82 [0.59, 1.16]).
conclusionMidlife vigorous physical activity was associated with better cognitive trajectories in women in their seventies, with suggestions of stronger associations among APOE-e4 carriers.
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