Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36810321›Full record

ArticleJournal of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry2023

Timing of physical activity across adulthood on later-life cognition: 30 years follow-up in the 1946 British birth cohort.

Sarah-Naomi James, Yu-Jie Chiou, Nasri Fatih, Louisa P Needham, Jonathan M Schott, Marcus Richards

Open access · hybridAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 27 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
27citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
6.7field-weighted citation impact, top 2% of its field
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

27 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 38 citations in OpenAlex.

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  10. The moderating effect of lifetime physical activity on brain alterations related to adverse childhood experiences.European psychiatry : the journal of the Association of European Psychiatrists · 2025
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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

6 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.

Sarah-Naomi JamesMRC Unit for Lifelong Health and Ageing at UCL, University College London, London, UK sarah.n.james@ucl.ac.uk.ORCID 0000-0002-3800-4416
Yu-Jie ChiouMRC Unit for Lifelong Health and Ageing at UCL, University College London, London, UK.
Nasri FatihMRC Unit for Lifelong Health and Ageing at UCL, University College London, London, UK.
Louisa P NeedhamMRC Unit for Lifelong Health and Ageing at UCL, University College London, London, UK.
Jonathan M SchottMRC Unit for Lifelong Health and Ageing at UCL, University College London, London, UK.ORCID 0000-0003-2059-024X
Marcus RichardsMRC Unit for Lifelong Health and Ageing at UCL, University College London, London, UK.
MRC Unit for Lifelong Health and Ageing · GBUK Dementia Research Institute · GBUniversity of Oxford · GB

Funding

Department of HealthMedical Research Council MC_PC_20059Medical Research Council MC_UU_00019/1Medical Research Council MC_UU_00019/3Medical Research Council MC_UU_12019/1
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundTo assess how timing, frequency and maintenance of being physically active, spanning over 30 years in adulthood, is associated with later-life cognitive function.

methodsParticipants (n=1417, 53% female) were from the prospective longitudinal cohort study, 1946 British birth cohort. Participation in leisure time physical activity was reported five times between ages 36 and 69, categorised into: not active (no participation in physical activity/month); moderately active (participated 1-4 times/month); most active (participated 5 or more times/month). Cognition at age 69 was assessed by tests of cognitive state (Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination-III), verbal memory (word learning test) and processing speed (visual search speed).

resultsBeing physically active, at all assessments in adulthood, was associated with higher cognition at age 69. For cognitive state and verbal memory, the effect sizes were similar across all adult ages, and between those who were moderately and most physically active. The strongest association was between sustained cumulative physical activity and later-life cognitive state, in a dose-response manner. Adjusting for childhood cognition, childhood socioeconomic position and education largely attenuated these associations but results mainly remained significant at the 5% level.

conclusionsBeing physically active at any time in adulthood, and to any extent, is linked with higher later-life cognitive state, but lifelong maintenance of physical activity was most optimal. These relationships were partly explained by childhood cognition and education, but independent of cardiovascular and mental health and APOE-E4, suggestive of the importance of education on the lifelong impacts of physical activity.

Indexed as

Birth CohortCognitionAdultAgedChildExerciseFemaleFollow-Up StudiesHumansLongitudinal StudiesMaleMiddle AgedProspective Studiesalzheimer's diseasecognitiondementianeuroepidemiology

Identifiers

PMID36810321
PMCPMC10176405
OpenAlexW4321434492

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.