Abstract
Objective
To address the association between exercise capacity and the onset of dementia, Alzheimer
disease, and cognitive impairment.
Patients and Methods
For 6104 consecutive veteran patients (mean ± SD age: 59.2±11.4 years) referred for
treadmill exercise testing, the combined end point of dementia, Alzheimer disease,
and cognitive impairment was abstracted from the Veterans Affairs computerized patient
record system.
Results
After mean ± SD follow-up of 10.3±5.5 years, 353 patients (5.8%) developed the composite
end point at a mean ± SD age of 76.7±10.3 years. After correction for confounders
in multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression, higher age at exercise testing
(hazard ratio [HR]=1.08; 95% CI, 1.07-1.09; P<.001), current smoking (HR=1.44; 95% CI, 1.08-1.93; P=.01), and exercise capacity (HR=0.92; 95% CI, 0.89-0.96; P<.001) emerged as predictors of cognitive impairment. Each 1–metabolic equivalent
increase in exercise capacity conferred a nearly 8% reduction in the incidence of
cognitive impairment. Meeting the recommendations for daily activity was not associated
with a delay in onset of cognitive impairment (HR=1.07; 95% CI, 0.86-1.32; P=.55).
Conclusion
Exercise capacity is strongly associated with cognitive function; the inverse association
between fitness and cognitive impairment provides an additional impetus for health
care providers to promote physical activity.
Abbreviations and Acronyms:
ACE (angiotensin-converting enzyme), BMI (body mass index), CVD (cardiovascular disease), HR (hazard ratio), MET (metabolic equivalent)To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
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Article Info
Publication History
Published online: January 09, 2017
Footnotes
Grant Support: This study was supported by a Marie Curie International Research Staff Exchange Scheme Fellowship within the Seventh European Community Framework Programme (J.M.).
Identification
Copyright
© 2016 Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
