Decreased Physical Activity Associated with Executive Dysfunction Correlates with Cognitive Impairment among Older Adults in the Community: A Retrospective Analysis from the Kurihara Project

BACKGROUND/AIMS: No previous studies have explored the relationship between physical activity (PA) and executive dysfunction. METHODS: We retrospectively evaluated the PA for 590 older participants in the Kurihara Project; 221 participants had a Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) of 0 (healthy), 295 CDR 0.5 (very mild dementia), and 74 CDR 1+ (dementia). RESULTS: In the complicated task, whether the motor intensity was high (e.g. farming) or low (e.g. shopping), PA exhibited an inverse relationship with the CDR level. By contrast, for simple tasks with high intensity (e.g. walking), no CDR group differences were noted. For PA with low intensity (e.g. cleaning), the CDR 1+ group exhibited decreased levels. CONCLUSION: PA was related to the burden of executive function in patients with mild cognitive impairment; however, in patients with dementia, PA was related to both the burden of executive function and motor intensity.