Cognitive function, physical activity, and depressive symptoms are intertwined in later life. Yet, the nature of the relationship between these three variables is unclear. Here, we aimed to determine which of physical activity or cognitive function mediated this relationship. We used large-scale longitudinal data from 51,191 adults 50 years of age or older (mean: 64.8 years, 54.7% women) from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE). Results of the longitudinal mediation analyses combined with autoregressive cross-lagged panel models showed that the model with physical activity as a mediator better fitted the data than the model with cognitive function as a mediator. Moreover, the mediating effect of physical activity was 8-9% of the total effect of cognitive function on depressive symptoms. Our findings suggest that higher cognitive resources favor the engagement in physical activity, which contributes to reduced depressive symptoms.

• MeSH
• cvičení * psychologie   MeSH
• deprese * psychologie   MeSH
• dospělí MeSH
• kognice MeSH
• lidé středního věku MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• longitudinální studie MeSH
• stárnutí psychologie   MeSH
• zdravotnické přehledy MeSH
• Check Tag
• dospělí MeSH
• lidé středního věku MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• mužské pohlaví MeSH
• ženské pohlaví MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural MeSH

AIMS: To investigate the associations of physical-activity trajectories with the level of cognitive performance and its decline in adults 50 years of age or older. METHODS: We studied 38729 individuals (63 ± 9 years; 57% women) enrolled in the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE). Physical activity was self-reported and cognitive performance was assessed based on immediate recall, verbal fluency, and delayed recall. Physical-activity trajectories were estimated using growth mixture modelling and linear mixed effects models were used to investigate the associations between the trajectories and cognitive performance. RESULTS: The models identified two physical-activity trajectories of physical activity: constantly-high physical activity (N=27634: 71%) and decreasing physical activity (N=11095; 29%). Results showed that participants in the decreasing physical-activity group exhibited a lower level of cognitive performance compared to the high physical-activity group (immediate recall: ß=0.94; 95% confidence interval [CI]=0.92 to 0.95; verbal fluency: ß=0.98; 95% CI=0.97 to 0.98; delayed recall: ß=0.95; 95% CI=0.94 to 0.97). Moreover, compared with participants in the constantly-high physical-activity group, participants in the decreasing physical-activity group showed a steeper decline in all cognitive measures (immediate recall: ß=-0.04; 95% CI=-0.05 to -0.04; verbal fluency: ß=-0.22; 95% CI=-0.24 to -0.21; delayed recall: ß=-0.04; 95% CI=-0.05 to -0.04). CONCLUSIONS: Physical-activity trajectories are associated with the level and evolution of cognitive performance in adults over 50 years. Specifically, our findings suggest that a decline in physical activity over multiple years is associated with a lower level and a steeper decline in cognitive performance.

• MeSH
• cvičení MeSH
• kognice MeSH
• kognitivní dysfunkce * epidemiologie   MeSH
• krátkodobá paměť MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• stárnutí MeSH
• zdravotnické přehledy MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• mužské pohlaví MeSH
• ženské pohlaví MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH