Does physical activity prevent cognitive decline and dementia?: A systematic review and meta-analysis of longitudinal studies

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Author(s)
Blondell, Sarah J
Hammersley-Mather, Rachel
Veerman, J Lennert
Griffith University Author(s)
Year published
2014
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Background: By 2050, it has been estimated that approximately one-fifth of the population will be made up of
older adults (aged ≥60 years). Old age often comes with cognitive decline and dementia. Physical activity may
prevent cognitive decline and dementia.
Methods: We reviewed and synthesised prospective studies into physical activity and cognitive decline, and
physical activity and dementia, published until January 2014. Forty-seven cohorts, derived from two previous
systematic reviews and an updated database search, were used in the meta-analyses. Included participants were
aged ≥40 years, in good health and/or randomly ...
View more >Background: By 2050, it has been estimated that approximately one-fifth of the population will be made up of older adults (aged ≥60 years). Old age often comes with cognitive decline and dementia. Physical activity may prevent cognitive decline and dementia. Methods: We reviewed and synthesised prospective studies into physical activity and cognitive decline, and physical activity and dementia, published until January 2014. Forty-seven cohorts, derived from two previous systematic reviews and an updated database search, were used in the meta-analyses. Included participants were aged ≥40 years, in good health and/or randomly selected from the community. Studies were assessed for methodological quality. Results: Twenty-one cohorts on physical activity and cognitive decline and twenty-six cohorts on physical activity and dementia were included. Meta-analysis, using the quality-effects model, suggests that participants with higher levels of physical activity, when compared to those with lower levels, are at reduced risk of cognitive decline, RR 0.65, 95% CI 0.55-0.76, and dementia, RR 0.86, 95% CI 0.76-0.97. Sensitivity analyses revealed a more conservative estimate of the impact of physical activity on cognitive decline and dementia for high quality studies, studies reporting effect sizes as ORs, greater number of adjustments (≥10), and longer follow-up time (≥10 years). When one heavily weighted study was excluded, physical activity was associated with an 18% reduction in the risk of dementia (RR 0.82; 0.73-0.91). Conclusions: Longitudinal observational studies show an association between higher levels of physical activity and a reduced risk of cognitive decline and dementia. A case can be made for a causal interpretation. Future research should use objective measures of physical activity, adjust for the full range of confounders and have adequate follow-up length. Ideally, randomised controlled trials will be conducted. Regardless of any effect on cognition, physical activity should be encouraged, as it has been shown to be beneficial on numerous levels.
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View more >Background: By 2050, it has been estimated that approximately one-fifth of the population will be made up of older adults (aged ≥60 years). Old age often comes with cognitive decline and dementia. Physical activity may prevent cognitive decline and dementia. Methods: We reviewed and synthesised prospective studies into physical activity and cognitive decline, and physical activity and dementia, published until January 2014. Forty-seven cohorts, derived from two previous systematic reviews and an updated database search, were used in the meta-analyses. Included participants were aged ≥40 years, in good health and/or randomly selected from the community. Studies were assessed for methodological quality. Results: Twenty-one cohorts on physical activity and cognitive decline and twenty-six cohorts on physical activity and dementia were included. Meta-analysis, using the quality-effects model, suggests that participants with higher levels of physical activity, when compared to those with lower levels, are at reduced risk of cognitive decline, RR 0.65, 95% CI 0.55-0.76, and dementia, RR 0.86, 95% CI 0.76-0.97. Sensitivity analyses revealed a more conservative estimate of the impact of physical activity on cognitive decline and dementia for high quality studies, studies reporting effect sizes as ORs, greater number of adjustments (≥10), and longer follow-up time (≥10 years). When one heavily weighted study was excluded, physical activity was associated with an 18% reduction in the risk of dementia (RR 0.82; 0.73-0.91). Conclusions: Longitudinal observational studies show an association between higher levels of physical activity and a reduced risk of cognitive decline and dementia. A case can be made for a causal interpretation. Future research should use objective measures of physical activity, adjust for the full range of confounders and have adequate follow-up length. Ideally, randomised controlled trials will be conducted. Regardless of any effect on cognition, physical activity should be encouraged, as it has been shown to be beneficial on numerous levels.
View less >
Journal Title
BMC Public Health
Volume
14
Copyright Statement
© 2014 Blondell et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative
Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and
reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited. The Creative Commons Public Domain
Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article,
unless otherwise stated.
Note
Page numbers are not for citation purposes. Instead, this article has the unique article number of 510.
Subject
Preventative health care