The relationship between physical activity and cognitive functioning in older adults: a cross‐sectional study from the ELSI‐Brazil data

Abstract Background Population aging is rapidly taking place in low‐ and middle‐income countries (LMIC) and is contributing to an increased prevalence of chronic conditions, such as dementia. Physical activity (PA) is a well‐known protective factor for cardiovascular conditions and is related to biological processes linked to cognition. Most studies linking PA with cognition come from high income countries. This study explores the relationship between PA and cognitive function in a representative sample of Brazilians aged 50 and above. Method This is a secondary analysis of the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSI‐Brazil) baseline data. We stratified the level of PA as low, moderate, or high according to the metabolic equivalent of task (MET) spent on different PA over a week. We also considered the level of PA recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO). The domains considered for cognitive function were memory (short‐term memory, episodic and total), and verbal fluency. Logistic regression models were conducted to estimate the relationship between PA and each of the cognitive domains. Result 7,994 individuals with complete data were considered for the final sample. They were primarily female (52%), with a mean age of 62.9 years (SD = 9.7), did not live alone (91.5%), and had 5.6 years of schooling (SD = 4.4). Higher levels of PA were related to better cognitive performance in respect of short‐term memory (β = 0.17, CI 95% 0.08‐0.25), total memory (β = 0.14, CI 95% 0.05‐0.22) and global cognition (β = 0.10, CI 95% 0.03‐0.16). The results were in the same direction for the WHO PA recommendations variable. Conclusion This study shows that different levels of PA, measured in different ways, may have benefits on cognition for older people. These findings can be used to support public health interventions promoting the practice of PA. Longitudinal studies are needed to further clarify this relationship.