Correlates of physical activity levels, muscle strength, working memory, and cognitive function in older adults

Shufan Li; Peng Wang; Zhidong Cai; Wanting Jiang; Xin Xin; Xing Wang; Xiaojing Zhou

doi:10.3389/fnagi.2023.1283864

Correlates of physical activity levels, muscle strength, working memory, and cognitive function in older adults

Front Aging Neurosci. 2023 Dec 14:15:1283864. doi: 10.3389/fnagi.2023.1283864. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Shufan Li¹, Peng Wang¹, Zhidong Cai², Wanting Jiang¹, Xin Xin¹, Xing Wang¹, Xiaojing Zhou³

Affiliations

¹ School of Physical Education, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai, China.
² Department of Physical Education, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Suzhou, China.
³ School of Sports and Health of Shanghai Lixin University of Accounting and Finance, Shanghai, China.

Abstract

Objective: To explore the relationship between physical activity level, muscle strength, working memory and cognitive function in older adults.

Methods: A cross-sectional research design was employed to recruit 120 older adults individuals aged 70 and above. Participants were asked to complete the International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Short Form and the Montreal Cognitive Assessment Scale. Data on variables such as grip strength and performance on the N-back task were collected. Data analysis involved the use of independent samples t-tests, χ2 tests, linear regression analysis, Pearson correlation analysis, and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA).

Results: The detection rate of cognitive dysfunction in older adults was 53.211%; 1-back correct rate had an explanatory power of 11.6% for the cognitive function scores of older adults (R² = 0.116, p < 0.001); grip strength showed a significant positive correlation with 1-back correct rate (r = 0.417, p < 0.001), and was significantly correlated with the 0-back response time (r = -0.478), 1 -back response time (r = -0.441) were significantly negatively correlated (p < 0.001); physical activity level was significantly positively correlated with grip strength (r = 0.559, p < 0.001), and the difference in grip strength among older adults with different physical activity levels was statistically significant (F = 19.685, p < 0.001).

Conclusion: Physical activity level, muscle strength, working memory, and cognitive function are closely related in older adults, and the relational pathway of physical activity → muscle strength → working memory → cognitive function may serve as a useful addition to promote the field of cognitive research in older adults. To identify and prevent cognitive decline in older adults, physical activity questionnaires, grip strength tests, and 1-back task tests can be extended to nursing homes and communities.

Keywords: cognitive function; muscle strength; older adults; physical activity; working memory.

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This work was supported by the National Social Science Foundation of China funded project (22BTY076), the Jiangsu Office of Philosophy and Social Science, Jiangsu Province Social Science Fund (23TYB011), and the Ministry of Education, Humanities and Social Science Projects (23YJC890023).