dc.contributor.author | Blondell, Sarah J | |
dc.contributor.author | Hammersley-Mather, Rachel | |
dc.contributor.author | Veerman, J Lennert | |
dc.date.accessioned | 2018-04-26T03:30:12Z | |
dc.date.available | 2018-04-26T03:30:12Z | |
dc.date.issued | 2014 | |
dc.identifier.issn | 1471-2458 | |
dc.identifier.doi | 10.1186/1471-2458-14-510 | |
dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/10072/373815 | |
dc.description.abstract | 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. | |
dc.description.peerreviewed | Yes | |
dc.language | English | |
dc.language.iso | eng | |
dc.publisher | BioMed Central | |
dc.relation.ispartofpagefrom | 510-1 | |
dc.relation.ispartofpageto | 510-12 | |
dc.relation.ispartofjournal | BMC Public Health | |
dc.relation.ispartofvolume | 14 | |
dc.subject.fieldofresearch | Preventative health care | |
dc.subject.fieldofresearchcode | 420605 | |
dc.title | Does physical activity prevent cognitive decline and dementia?: A systematic review and meta-analysis of longitudinal studies | |
dc.type | Journal article | |
dc.type.description | C1 - Articles | |
dc.type.code | C - Journal Articles | |
dcterms.license | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ | |
dc.description.version | Version of Record (VoR) | |
gro.description.notepublic | Page numbers are not for citation purposes. Instead, this article has the unique article number of 510. | |
gro.rights.copyright | © 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. | |
gro.hasfulltext | Full Text | |
gro.griffith.author | Veerman, Lennert L. | |