Benefits of Sustained Physical Activity From Middle-Age To Early Old Age On Quality Of Life In Early Old Age

This secondary data analysis study aimed to examine the changes in physical activities (PAs) over time (2009-2017) in the same participants and to determine an association between changes in PA and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in early older adults (n=994) using data from the Korea Health Panel Survey. The HRQoL was measured using the EuroQol quality-of-life system and the amount of PA were grouped to 4 activity levels (remained inactive, became inactive, became active, and remained active). The association of changes in PA over 8 years with HRQoL was examined using logistic regression analysis while controlling for socioeconomic and behavioral factors. The total PA decreased from 1,859.72±1,760.01 MET-minutes in 2009 to 1,264.80 ±1,251.14 MET-minutes in 2017 (P < 0.001). In 2017, 142 (14.3%) remained inactive, whereas 419 (42.2%) remained active. The participants who remained inactive at early old age were more likely to be at the lowest 10% HRQoL of the sample (odds ratio = 1.95, 95% confidence interval = 1.09–3.48). This indicates that educating middle-aged adults who are relatively inactive must be a priority in order to maintain and improve PA, enhance HRQoL, and maximize the benefits of PA in old age.

Concurrent and Predictive Associations between the Life's Simple 7 & Brain Structure in Middle-Age and Early-Old Age

American Heart Association’s (AHA) Life’s Simple 7 (LS7), an index of cardiovascular health risks, has been associated with worse brain outcomes but few examined this relationship in midlife. We examined whether LS7 scores at midlife were associated with brain morphometry in early old age. Participants were 471 men who participated in the Vietnam Era Twin Study of Aging. The LS7 index was assessed at mean age 62 (range 55-66) and 68 (range 61-71) and included smoking, physical activity, diet, body mass index, cholesterol, glucose, and blood pressure. Each factor was coded, per AHA criteria, on a 3-point scale (0/poor-2/ideal) and summed to create a composite score (0-14). At mean age 68, participants underwent structural magnetic resonance imaging, which was used to create the previously validated brain measures. Scores included: the ratio of abnormal white matter to white matter, and two Alzheimer’s disease brain signatures (cortical thickness/volume signature and a mean diffusivity (MD) signature). Analyses controlled for age, education, income, ethnicity, and APOE genotype. Concurrently at mean age 68, the LS7 was associated with cortical thickness/volume (F=4.85, p = .028), MD (F=10.89, p = .001) signatures and abnormal white matter ratio (F=14.04, p &lt; .001). Prospectively, the LS7 at mean 62 was significantly associated with age 68 cortical thickness/volume (F=5.08, p = .025) and MD (F=5.54, p = .019) signatures but not with abnormal white matter ratio. These results suggest that prevention strategies that promote heart healthy behaviors could have implications for healthy brain aging.

Leisure Activities and Their Relationship With MRI Measures of Brain Structure, Functional Connectivity, and Cognition in the UK Biobank Cohort

Introduction: This study aimed to evaluate whether engagement in leisure activities is linked to measures of brain structure, functional connectivity, and cognition in early old age.Methods: We examined data collected from 7,152 participants of the United Kingdom Biobank (UK Biobank) study. Weekly participation in six leisure activities was assessed twice and a cognitive battery and 3T MRI brain scan were administered at the second visit. Based on responses collected at two time points, individuals were split into one of four trajectory groups: (1) stable low engagement, (2) stable weekly engagement, (3) low to weekly engagement, and (4) weekly to low engagement.Results: Consistent weekly attendance at a sports club or gym was associated with connectivity of the sensorimotor functional network with the lateral visual (β = 0.12, 95%CI = [0.07, 0.18], FDR q = 2.48 × 10–3) and cerebellar (β = 0.12, 95%CI = [0.07, 0.18], FDR q = 1.23 × 10–4) networks. Visiting friends and family across the two timepoints was also associated with larger volumes of the occipital lobe (β = 0.15, 95%CI = [0.08, 0.21], FDR q = 0.03). Additionally, stable and weekly computer use was associated with global cognition (β = 0.62, 95%CI = [0.35, 0.89], FDR q = 1.16 × 10–4). No other associations were significant (FDR q &gt; 0.05).Discussion: This study demonstrates that not all leisure activities contribute to cognitive health equally, nor is there one unifying neural signature across diverse leisure activities.

Determining the stability of genome-wide factors in BMI between ages 40 to 69 years.

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have successfully identified common variants associated with BMI. However, the stability of genetic variation influencing BMI from midlife and beyond is unknown. By analyzing BMI data collected from 165,717 men and 193,073 women from the UKBiobank, we performed BMI GWAS on six independent five-year age intervals between 40 and 73 years. We then applied genomic structural equation modeling (gSEM) to test competing hypotheses regarding the stability of genetic effects for BMI. LDSR genetic correlations between BMI assessed between ages 40 to 73 were all very high and ranged 0.89 to 1.00. Genomic structural equation modeling revealed that genetic variance in BMI at each age interval could not be explained by the accumulation of any age-specific genetic influences or autoregressive processes. Instead, a common set of stable genetic influences appears to underpin variation in BMI from middle to early old age in men and women alike.

Childhood reading problems and cognitive ageing across mid to later life

BackgroundLittle research has investigated long-term associations of childhood reading with cognitive ageing. The aim of this study was to test longitudinal associations between childhood reading problems and cognitive function from mid-adulthood (age 43) to early old age (age 69), and whether associations were mediated by education.MethodsData were from the MRC National Survey of Health and Development, a prospective population-based birth cohort. Reading problems were measured at age 11 using a reading test. Verbal memory and processing speed were measured at ages 43, 53, 60–64 and 69 and Addenbrooke’s Cognitive Examination (ACE) was administered at age 69. Linear mixed models and path analyses were used to test: (1) associations between reading problems and verbal memory and processing speed trajectories; (2) associations between reading problems and ACE-III scores; (3) whether associations were mediated by education.ResultsReading problems were associated with poorer verbal memory at intercept but not rate of decline (N=1726), and were not associated with processing speed intercept or decline (N=1730). There were higher rates of scores below ACE-III clinical thresholds (<82 and <88) in people with reading problems compared with those without. Reading problems were associated with poorer total ACE-III scores and all domain scores at age 69 (N=1699). Associations were partly mediated by education.ConclusionReading problems in childhood were associated with poorer cognitive function in early old age, and associations were partly mediated by education.

Metabolic Syndrome Trajectories and Objective Physical Performance in Mid-To-Early Late Life: The Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation (SWAN)

Background Little is known about how adverse, midlife metabolic profiles impact future physical functioning. We hypothesized that a higher number of midlife metabolic syndrome (MetS) components are associated with poorer physical performance in early old age for multi-ethnic women. Methods MetS status from 1996-2011 (8 visits) and objective physical performance in 2015/2016 (short physical performance battery (SPPB; 0-12), 40-foot walk (m/s), 4-meter gait speed (m/s), chair stands (sec), stair climb (sec)) were assessed in the Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation (SWAN; n=1722; age 65.4±2.7 years; 26.9% African American, 10.1% Chinese, 9.8% Japanese, 5.5% Hispanic). Poisson latent class growth modeling identified MetS component trajectory groups: none (23.9%), 1=low-MetS (28.7%), 2=mid-MetS (30.9%), and &gt;3=high-MetS (16.5%). Adjusted linear regression related MetS groups to physical performance outcomes. Results High-MetS versus none had higher BMI, pain, financial strain, and lower physical activity and self-reported health (p&lt;0.0001). Compared to White, African American and Hispanic women were more likely to be in the high-MetS groups and had worse physical functioning along with Chinese women (SPPB, chair stand, stair climb, and gait speed - not Hispanic). After adjustments, high-MetS versus none demonstrated significantly worse 40-ft walk (β:-0.08; 95% CI:-0.13, -0.03), gait speed (β:-0.09; 95% CI:-0.15, -0.02), SPPB (β:-0.79; 95% CI: -1.15, -0.44), and chair stands (β:0.69; 95% CI: 0.09, 1.28), but no difference in stair climb. Conclusions Midlife MetS groups were related to poor physical performance in early old age multi-ethnic women. Midlife management of metabolic function may improve physical performance later in life.