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The long-term relation between physical activity and executive function in the Rotterdam Study

  • NEURO-EPIDEMIOLOGY
  • Published:
European Journal of Epidemiology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Background

Research on the association between physical inactivity and cognitive decline and dementia is dominated by studies with short-term follow-up, that might be biased by reverse causality.

Objective

Investigate the long-term association between physical activity, cognition, and the rate of age-associated cognitive decline.

Methods

We investigated the association between late-life physical activity and executive functioning and rate of decline of executive abilities during follow-up of up to 16 years, in 3553 participants of the prospective Rotterdam Study cohort. Measurement took place in 1997–1999, 2002–2004, 2009–2011, and 2014–2015.

Results

At baseline (age ± 72 years), higher levels of physical activity were associated with higher levels of executive functioning (adjusted mean difference = 0.03, 95% CI: 0.00 ; 0.06, p = 0.03). This difference remained intact up to 16 years of follow-up. The level of physical activity at baseline was unrelated to the rate of decline of executive abilities over time, in the whole group (adjusted mean difference in changetime*physical activity = 0.00, 95% CI: -0.00 ; 0.01, p = 0.31). However, stratification by APOE genotype showed that the accelerated decline of executive abilities observed in those with the ApoE-ε4 allele might be attenuated by higher levels of physical activity in late adulthood (ApoE-ε4 carriers: Btime*physical activity = 0.01, 95% CI: 0.00 ; 0.01, p = 0.03).

Conclusion

Higher levels of physical activity in late adulthood are related to higher levels of executive functioning, up to 16 years of follow-up. Accelerated decline of executive abilities observed in those with the ApoE-ε4 allele might be mitigated by higher levels of physical activity.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to the study participants, the staff from the Rotterdam Study and the participating general practitioners and pharmacists. The Rotterdam Study is funded by Erasmus Medical Centre and Erasmus University, Rotterdam, Netherlands Organization for the Health Research and Development (ZonMw), the Research Institute for Diseases in the Elderly (RIDE), the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, the Ministry for Health, Welfare, and Sports, the European Commission (DG XII), and the Municipality of Rotterdam. The work described here is funded by European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation program as part of the CoSTREAM project (Common mechanisms and pathways in Stroke and Alzheimer’s disease, http://www.costream.eu, grant 667375) and by the Netherlands Organization for the Health Research and Development (ZonMw) as part of the projects Memorabel (Dementia research and innovation program - grant 733050303) and PERADES (Defining Genetic, Polygenic and Environmental Risk for Alzheimer’s Disease using multiple powerful cohorts, focused Epigenetics and Stem cell metabolomics – grant 733051021). The authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Clinical, Neuro- and Developmental Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Sara A. Galle, Maarten M. Milders, Jan Berend Deijen, Erik J.A. Scherder & Madeleine L. Drent

  2. Department of Epidemiology, Erasmus MC, University Medical Centre, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

    Sara A. Galle, Trudy Voortman, M. Arfan Ikram & Cornelia M. van Duijn

  3. Nuffield Department of Population Health, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK

    Jun Liu, Najaf Amin & Cornelia M. van Duijn

  4. REVAL Rehabilitation Research Centre, Faculty of Rehabilitation Sciences, Hasselt University, Hasselt, Belgium

    Bruno Bonnechère

  5. Technology-Supported and Data-Driven Rehabilitation, Data Sciences Institute, Hasselt University, Diepenbeek, Belgium

    Bruno Bonnechère

  6. Hersencentrum Mental Health Institute, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Jan Berend Deijen

  7. Department of Internal Medicine, Endocrinology Section, Amsterdam University Medical Centre, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Madeleine L. Drent

  8. Li Ka Shing Centre for Health Information and Discovery, Big Data Institute, Oxford, UK

    Cornelia M. van Duijn

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  1. Sara A. Galle
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  2. Jun Liu
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Data analysis were performed by S.A. Galle, B. Bonnechere and J. Liu. The first draft of the manuscript was written by S.A. Galle and supervised by M.L. Drent and C.M. van Duijn. All authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript and read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sara A. Galle.

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Compliance with ethical standards

The Rotterdam Study has been approved by the Medical Ethics Committee of Erasmus MC (registration number MEC 02.1015) and by the Dutch Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport (Population Screening Act WBO, license number 1071272-159521-PG). All participants provided written informed consent to participate in the study and to have their medical information obtained from treating physicians.

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Galle, S.A., Liu, J., Bonnechère, B. et al. The long-term relation between physical activity and executive function in the Rotterdam Study. Eur J Epidemiol 38, 71–81 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10654-022-00902-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10654-022-00902-4

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