PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Sarah-Naomi James
AU  - Yu-Jie Chiou
AU  - Nasri Fatih
AU  - Louisa P Needham
AU  - Jonathan M Schott
AU  - Marcus Richards
TI  - Timing of physical activity across adulthood on later-life cognition: 30 years follow-up in the 1946 British birth cohort
AID  - 10.1136/jnnp-2022-329955
DP  - 2023 Jan 25
TA  - Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry
PG  - jnnp-2022-329955
4099  - http://jnnp.bmj.com/content/early/2023/01/24/jnnp-2022-329955.short
4100  - http://jnnp.bmj.com/content/early/2023/01/24/jnnp-2022-329955.full
AB  - Background To assess how timing, frequency and maintenance of being physically active, spanning over 30 years in adulthood, is associated with later-life cognitive function.Methods Participants (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).Results Being 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.Conclusions Being 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.Data are available on reasonable request. Data used in this publication are available to bona fide researchers on request to the NSHD Data Sharing Committee via a standard application procedure. Further details can be found at http://www.nshd.mrc.ac.uk/data. doi:10.5522/NSHD/Q102; 10.5522/NSHD/Q103.