Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34258171›Full record

ArticlePreventive medicine reports2021

Is there a bidirectional association between sedentary behaviour and cognitive decline in older adults? Findings from the Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing.

Carlijn M Maasakkers, Jurgen A H R Claassen, Siobhan Scarlett, Dick H J Thijssen, Rose Anne Kenny, Joanne Feeney, René J F Melis

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Preventive medicine reports, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
16citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

16 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Impact of Different Types of Sedentary Behaviour on Cognitive Function in Older Adults: A Systematic Review.Health promotion journal of Australia : official journal of Australian Association of Health Promotion Professionals · 2026
    Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. Trial
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. Review
  10. Article
  11. Historic Cognitive Function Trajectories as Predictors of Sedentary Behavior and Physical Activity in Older Adults.The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences · 2024
    Article
  12. Sedentary behavior and lifespan brain health.Trends in cognitive sciences · 2024
    Review
  13. Article
  14. Article
  15. Article
  16. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Carlijn M MaasakkersDepartment of Geriatrics/Radboud Alzheimer Center, Radboud Institute for Health Sciences, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
Jurgen A H R ClaassenDepartment of Geriatrics/Radboud Alzheimer Center, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behavior, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
Siobhan ScarlettThe Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
Dick H J ThijssenDepartment of Physiology, Radboud Institute for Health Sciences, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
Rose Anne KennyThe Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
Joanne FeeneyThe Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
René J F MelisDepartment of Geriatrics/Radboud Alzheimer Center, Radboud Institute for Health Sciences, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, the Netherlands.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Research on whether sedentary behaviour (SB) is related to cognitive decline in older individuals is conflicting, potentially caused by methodological differences in previous studies. To inform public health policies, we analysed both the forward and reverse association across four-years between subjective TV time and objectively-measured SB and four cognitive outcome measures in older adults. The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA) quantified time spent watching TV using a questionnaire and objective physical activity patterns with a GENEActiv accelerometer. Mixed model analysis examined whether these two measures of SB related to changes in cognitive function (immediate and delayed recall, MMSE, and animal naming task) during a four-year follow-up period. Furthermore, the reverse association between changes in cognition over the preceding four years and SB was investigated. We included 1,276 participants (67 ± 9 years). Longitudinally, every hour of objective SB per day was associated with a -0.01 (95%CI = -0.03;-0.00) lower MMSE score per year. Reversely, a worse decline in immediate and delayed recall over the preceding waves was related to slightly more objective SB (B = -0.24 (95%CI = -0.41;-0.07)) and TV time (B = -0.25 (95%CI = -0.48;-0.03)) at the end of those four years. To conclude, in healthy older individuals, higher levels of objective SB are related to cognitive decline across a four-year follow-up, although the magnitude and clinical relevance are questionable. As preceding cognitive decline is associated with more SB across follow-up, this suggests that a bidirectional association is plausible.

Indexed as

Cognitive declineDementiaOlder adultsSedentary behaviourSitting

Identifiers

PMID34258171
PMCPMC8259404

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.