Association Between 24-Hour Movement Behavior and Cognitive Function in Brazilian Middle-Aged and Older Adults: Findings From the ELSA-Brasil

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The relationship between 24-hr movement behavior and specific domains of cognitive function is unclear. The purpose of this study was to identify the joint association of daily time spent in light (light-intensity physical activity [LPA]) and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), sedentary behavior (SB), and sleep with cognitive function in middle-aged and older adults. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Cross-sectional data from Wave 3 (2017–2019) of the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health were analyzed. The study included adults aged 41–84 years old. Physical activity was assessed using a waist-worn accelerometer. Cognitive function was examined using standardized tests to assess memory, language, and Trail-Making test. Global cognitive function score was calculated by averaging domain-specific scores. Compositional isotemporal substitution models were performed to identify the association between the reallocation of time spent in LPA, MVPA, sleep, and SB with cognitive function. RESULTS: Participants (n = 8,608) were 55.9% female (mean age 58.9 [8.6] years). Reallocating time from SB to MVPA was associated with higher cognitive function: Reallocating 15 min to MVPA by reducing 5 min from each other behavior was associated with increased odds of better cognitive function in both insufficient (<7 hr/day; odds ratio [OR]: 0.64; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.54–0.77) and sufficient (≥7 hr/day; OR: 0.62; 95% CI: 0.58–0.67) sleep groups. Among those with insufficient sleep, reallocating time to MVPA and sleep from SB was associated with higher global cognitive performance. DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS: Small reductions in SB and increments in MVPA were associated with higher cognitive function in middle-aged and older adults.