The association of single and combined factors of sedentary behavior and physical activity with subjective cognitive complaints among community-dwelling older adults: Cross-sectional study

PLoS One. 2018 Apr 16;13(4):e0195384. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0195384. eCollection 2018.

Abstract

Subjective cognitive complaints (SCC) might be a meaningful indicator of dementia onset or mild cognitive impairment, and identifying the related factors of SCC could contribute to preventing these diseases. However, the relationship between SCC and lifestyle factors remains largely unproven. The purpose of this study was to examine the association of type of sedentary behavior, physical activity, or their combination with SCC among community-dwelling older adults. In 2016, 6677 community-living elderly were recruited to participate in a survey investigating cognition, physical activity, and sedentary behavior. In total, 5328 participants responded to the questionnaire (79.8% valid response rate). SCC was assessed using the National Functional Survey Questionnaire (Kihon checklist). The relationships between SCC and physical activity, sedentary behavior (reading books or newspapers, and television viewing), or combined physical activity and sedentary behavior were examined via multiple logistic regression analysis. The analysis revealed that moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (≥150 min/week) was significantly related with a lower risk of SCC (odds ratio [OR] = 0.85; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.74-0.97), and that reading behavior showed a dose-response relationship with SCC (OR for 10-20 min/day = 0.63; 95% CI = 0.53-0.75; OR for 20-30 min/day = 0.59; 95% CI = 0.49-0.71; OR for ≥30 min/day = 0.47; 95% CI = 0.39-0.57). In addition, among those reporting high physical activity and ≥30 min/day for reading time, the OR for SCC was 0.40 (95% CI = 0.32-0.50) compared with the combined group reporting lower physical activity and non-readers. The present study shows that increased physical activity and reading time may be related to a reduced risk for SCC among community-dwelling older adults.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Cognition*
  • Cross-Sectional Studies
  • Exercise*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Independent Living / psychology*
  • Independent Living / statistics & numerical data*
  • Male
  • Sedentary Behavior*

Grants and funding

This study was supported by Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (15H03089) from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science and Health science research grant for young researchers from Meiji Yasuda Life Foundation of Health and Welfare. TA and YN received the funding, and the funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.