Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Relationship Between Cognitive Performance, Physical Activity, And Socio-Demographic/Individual Characteristics Among Aging Americans, Imtiaz Masfique Dowllah, Juan Carlos Lopez-Alvarenga, Gladys Maestre, Ulku S. Karabulut, Michael Lehker, Murat Karabulut

School of Medicine Publications and Presentations

Background: Physical activity (PA) has emerged as a promising approach to delay Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, but the optimal intensity of PA to improve cognitive health remains unknown.

Objective: To evaluate the association between duration and intensity of PA and cognitive domains (executive function, processing speed, and memory) in aging Americans.

Methods: Linear regressions in hierarchical blocks for variable adjustment and the size of effect (η2) were analyzed by using the data of 2,377 adults (age = 69.3±6.7 years) from the NHANES 2011–2014.

Results: Participants with 3–6 h/week of vigorous- and > 1 h/week of moderate-intensity PA scored significantly higher …

Multimodal Imaging Brain Markers In Early Adolescence Are Linked With A Physically Active Lifestyle, Piergiorgio Salvan, Thomas Wassenaar, Catherine Wheatley, Nicholas Beale, Michiel Cottaar, Daniel Papp, Matteo Bastiani, Sean P. Fitzgibbon, Euguene Duff, Anderson M. Winkler

School of Medicine Publications and Presentations

The World Health Organization promotes physical exercise and a healthy lifestyle as means to improve youth development. However, relationships between physical lifestyle and human brain development are not fully understood. Here, we asked whether a human brain-physical latent mode of covariation underpins the relationship between physical activity, fitness, and physical health measures with multimodal neuroimaging markers. In 50 12-year old school pupils (26 females), we acquired multimodal whole-brain MRI, characterizing brain structure, microstructure, function, myelin content, and blood perfusion. We also acquired physical variables measuring objective fitness levels, 7 d physical activity, body mass index, heart rate, and blood pressure. …

The Effects Of An Aerobic Training Intervention On Cognition, Grey Matter Volumes And White Matter Microstructure, Claire E. Sexton, Jill F. Betts, Andrea Dennis, Aiden Doherty, Paul Leeson, Cameron Holloway, Erica Dall'armellina, Anderson M. Winkler, Naiara Demnitz, Thomas Wassenaar

School of Medicine Publications and Presentations

While there is strong evidence from observational studies that physical activity is associated with reduced risk of cognitive decline and dementia, the extent to which aerobic training interventions impact on cognitive health and brain structure remains subject to debate. In a pilot study of 46 healthy older adults (66.6 years ± 5.2 years, 63% female), we compared the effects of a twelve-week aerobic training programme to a waitlist control condition on cardiorespiratory fitness, cognition and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) outcomes. Cardiorespiratory fitness was assessed by VO max testing. Cognitive assessments spanned executive function, memory and processing speed. Structural MRI analysis …

Physical Activity And Fto Genotype By Physical Activity Interactive Influences On Obesity, Joon Young Kim, Jacob T. Demenna, Sobha Puppala, Geetha Chittoor, Jennifer Schneider, Ravindranath Duggirala, Lawrence J. Mandarino, Gabriel Q. Shaibi, Dawn K. Coletta

School of Medicine Publications and Presentations

Background: Although the effect of the fat mass and obesity-associated (FTO) gene on adiposity is well established, there is a lack of evidence whether physical activity (PA) modifies the effect of FTO variants on obesity in Latino populations. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine PA influences and interactive effects between FTO variants and PA on measures of adiposity in Latinos.

Results: After controlling for age and sex, participants who did not engage in regular PA exhibited higher BMI, fat mass, HC, and WC with statistical significance (P < 0.001). Although significant associations between the three FTO genotypes and adiposity measures were found, none of the FTO genotype by PA interaction assessments revealed nominally significant associations. However, several of such interactive influences exhibited considerable trend towards association.

Conclusions: These data suggest that adiposity measures are associated with …

Sex-Specific Genetic Effects In Physical Activity: Results From A Quantitative Genetic Analysis, Vincent P. Diego, Raquel Nichele De Chaves, John Blangero, Daniel Santos, Thayse Natacha Gomes, Fernanda Karina Dos Santos, Rui Garganta, Peter T. Katzmarzyk, José Ar Maia

School of Medicine Publications and Presentations

Background: The objective of this study is to present a model to estimate sex-specific genetic effects on physical activity (PA) levels and sedentary behaviour (SB) using three generation families.

Methods: The sample consisted of 100 families covering three generations from Portugal. PA and SB were assessed via the International Physical Activity Questionnaire short form (IPAQ-SF). Sex-specific effects were assessed by genotype-by-sex interaction (GSI) models and sex-specific heritabilities. GSI effects and heterogeneity were tested in the residual environmental variance. SPSS 17 and SOLAR v. 4.1 were used in all computations.

Results: The genetic component for PA and SB domains varied from …