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P2‐584: ASSOCIATION OF SELF‐REPORTED PHYSICAL EXERCISE FREQUENCY AND COGNITIVE TRAJECTORY IN OLDER ADULTS
Author(s) -
Brooker Helen,
Ballard Clive,
Aarsland Dag,
Khan Zunera,
Wesnes Keith,
Corbett Anne
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
alzheimer's and dementia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.713
H-Index - 118
eISSN - 1552-5279
pISSN - 1552-5260
DOI - 10.1016/j.jalz.2019.06.2993
Subject(s) - cognition , gerontology , effects of sleep deprivation on cognitive performance , population , longitudinal study , psychology , association (psychology) , intervention (counseling) , cognitive decline , medicine , physical medicine and rehabilitation , environmental health , dementia , psychiatry , psychotherapist , disease , pathology
burned were recorded on the Fitbit device, with participants blinded to activity levels. Participants also completed the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS). Results: Adjusting for demographics (age, sex, and education), greater average daily steps (b1⁄4 -0.0008, p1⁄40.02), distance (b1⁄4 -1.15, p1⁄40.001), and calories (b1⁄4 -0.01, p1⁄40.001) were associated with lower perceived stress, but not depressive symptoms (GDS ps>0.30). The relationship between Fitbit measures and perceived stress remained significant even after adjusting for BMI, heart rate, and systolic blood pressure (ps<0.01). Engaging in <7100 daily steps was associated with 2.2 increased odds of being categorized as “high stress” (upper 50%ile of sample). Conclusions: Our data provide support for the relationship between a range of daily movement metrics (step count, distance traveled, calories burned) and levels of perceived stress. The Fitbit actigraph’s step counting feature may be a potential intervention for encouraging increased movement in older adults, with the aim of decreasing experiences of psychological stress and promoting brain health. These findings are compelling due to their incorporation of all movement, rather than merely traditional high-intensity exercise. Further research should aim to disentangle the contributions of non-exercise movement versus deliberate exercise to the maintenance of psychological health in older adults.