Could physical activity prevent cognitive impairment? The fragsalud study

Resumen

Physical activity has been shown as a tool for slowing down the pathological process of ageing and dementia-related problems. However, the influence of physical activity on mild cognitive impairment is still inconclusive in the older population. Our main objective was to compare the physical activity behaviours of older people with and without mild cognitive impairment. This study presents preliminary results from the FRAGSALUD study (UMA20-FEDERJA-154). Twenty participants (72.8±6.0 years) were included in this study. Depending on their result in thePfeiffer Short Portable Mental Status Questionnaire, participants were allocated into the normal cognitive group (n=10, 70.3±4.7 years) and the mild cognitive impairment group (n=10, 75.3±6.3 years). Physical activity (light, moderate, vigorous, and moderate to vigorous) was measured using a wrist-worn triaxial accelerometer (Geneactiv, Activinsights, Cambridge, United Kingdom). Statistical analysis was performed using the two-sample independent t-Student test to compare differences between cognitive groups. 40% of the participants did not achieve the recommended 150 min/week of moderate to vigorous physical activity (20% for the normal group, 60% for the mild cognitive impairment). Participants withmild cognitive impairment spent less time doing moderate to vigorous physical activity compared to the normal group (-28.95 min/day, p<0.03). These results remained after adjusting by age. Our results suggest that physical activity, especially if its intensity is moderate to vigorous, could delay the development of mild cognitive impairment. These outcomes might be explained by the beneficial effects of moderate to vigorous physical activity, which can stimulate neurogenesis and synaptic plasticity as well as increase the concentration of brain-derived neurotrophic factor, a factor that is related to neuronal cell growth and maintenance, showing the importance of physical activity in olderpopulations.