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Associations between Sedentary Duration and Cognitive Function in Older Adults: A Longitudinal Study with 2-Year Follow-Up

  • Original Research
  • Published:
The journal of nutrition, health & aging

Abstract

Objectives

This study aimed to investigate the association between different forms of sedentary behavior and cognitive function in Chinese community-dwelling older adults.

Design

A longitudinal study with a 2-year follow-up.

Setting and Participants

Data from 5356 participants at baseline and 956 participants at the follow-up of the Anhui Healthy Longevity Survey (AHLS) were analysed.

Measurements

Cognitive function was evaluated by the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) was classified according to education-specific criteria. Self-report questionnaires were used to assess the sedentary behavior of the participants.

Results

The participants who reported longer screen-watching sedentary duration had higher MMSE scores (1–2 hours: β=0.758, 95% CI: 0.450, 1.066; > 2 hours: β=1.240, 95% CI: 0.917, 1.562) and lower likelihoods of MCI (1–2 hours: OR= 0.787, 95% CI: 0.677, 0.914; >2 hours: OR=0.617, 95% CI: 0.524, 0.726). The participants who had played cards (or mahjong) sedentary had higher MMSE scores (β= 1.132, 95% CI: 0.788, 1.476) and lower likelihoods of MCI (OR=0.572, 95% CI: 0.476, 0.687). However, the participants who reported longer other forms of sedentary duration had lower MMSE scores (1–2 hours: β=−0.409, 95% CI: −0.735, −0.082; > 2 hours: β=−1.391, 95% CI: −1.696, −1.087) and higher likelihoods of MCI (1–2 hours: OR=1.271, 95% CI: 1.081, 1.496; > 2 hours: OR=1.632, 95% CI: 1.409, 1.889). No significant association was detected between sedentary duration and MCI incidence.

Conclusion

Variations in the impact of diverse sedentary behaviors on the cognitive function were detected in Chinese older adults. However, such associations were cross-sectional and longitudinal associations were not found in the current study.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank all participants in the AHLS for their cooperation and data sharing. We also thank all the colleagues for their time and efforts on data collection and project management.

Funding

Funding: This research was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, Grant Number 72004003 to YZ, the Key Project of Science and Technology of Anhui Province, Grant Number 202004b11020019 to GS, and the Hefei Municipal Natural Science Foundation, Grant Number 2021005 to GS.

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Author notes

  1. These authors contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Health Service Management, Anhui Medical University, 81-Meishan Road, Hefei, Anhui, 230032, P.R. China

    Z. Shuai, Z. Jingya, W. Qing, W. Qiong, D. Chen &  Zhang Yan

  2. Department of Geriatrics, The First Affiliated Hospital of University of Science and Technology of China, Gerontology Institute of Anhui Province, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, 17-Lujiang Road, Hefei, Anhui, 230001, P.R. China

    Shen Guodong

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  1. Z. Shuai
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Contributions

Author Contributions: SZ drafted the manuscript. GS and YZ framed the concept and designed the study. Data collection and material preparation were conducted by SZ, JZ, QinW, and QioW, and data analysis was performed by WZ and CD. All authors meet the criteria for authorship according to their contributions to the manuscript. All authors contributed to the article and approved the submitted version.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Shen Guodong or Zhang Yan.

Ethics declarations

Ethics approval and consent to participate: The study protocol was approved by the Ethics Review Committee of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China (No. 2020H011). Informed consent was obtained from all participants included in the study.

Conflict of Interest: None declared. The research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

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Shuai, Z., Jingya, Z., Qing, W. et al. Associations between Sedentary Duration and Cognitive Function in Older Adults: A Longitudinal Study with 2-Year Follow-Up. J Nutr Health Aging 27, 656–662 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12603-023-1963-4

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