Gérontopôle de Toulouse, Institut du Vieillissement, Centre Hospitalo-Universitaire de Toulouse, Toulouse 31000, France.
Gérontopôle de Toulouse, Institut du Vieillissement, Centre Hospitalo-Universitaire de Toulouse, Toulouse 31000, France; Université Paul-Sabatier/Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale Unité Mixte de Recherche 1027, Faculté de médecine, University of Toulouse III, Toulouse 31000, France.
J Sport Health Sci. 2023 May;12(3):324-332. doi: 10.1016/j.jshs.2021.01.011. Epub 2021 Feb 2.
Age-related changes in brain structure may constitute the starting point for cerebral function alteration. Physical activity (PA) demonstrated favorable associations with total brain volume, but its relationship with cortical thickness (CT) remains unclear. We investigated the cross-sectional associations between PA level and CT in community-dwelling people aged 70 years and older.
A total of 403 older adults aged 74.8 ± 4.0 years (mean ± SD) who underwent a baseline magnetic resonance imaging examination and who had data on PA and confounders were included. PA was assessed with a questionnaire. Participants were categorized according to PA levels. Multiple linear regressions were used to compare the brain CT (mm) of the inactive group (no PA at all) with 6 active groups (growing PA levels) in 34 regions of interest.
Compared with inactive persons, people who achieved PA at a level of 1500-1999 metabolic equivalent task-min/week (i.e., about 6-7 h of brisk walking for exercise and those who achieved it at 2000-2999 metabolic equivalent task-min/week (i.e., 8-11 h of brisk walking for exercise) had higher CT in the fusiform gyrus and the temporal pole. Additionally, dose-response associations between PA and CT were found in the fusiform gyrus (B = 0.011, SE = 0.004, adj. p = 0.035), the temporal pole (B = 0.026, SE = 0.009, adj. p = 0.048), and the caudal middle frontal gyrus, the entorhinal, medial orbitofrontal, lateral occipital, and insular cortices.
This study demonstrates a positive association between PA level and CT in temporal areas such as the fusiform gyrus, a brain region often associated to Alzheimer's disease in people aged 70 years and older. Future investigations focusing on PA type may help to fulfil remaining knowledge gaps in this field.
大脑结构的年龄相关性变化可能构成大脑功能改变的起点。身体活动（PA）与总脑容量呈有利关联，但与皮质厚度（CT）的关系尚不清楚。我们研究了社区居住的 70 岁及以上人群中 PA 水平与 CT 的横断面关联。
共纳入 403 名年龄 74.8±4.0 岁（均值±标准差）的老年人，他们接受了基线磁共振成像检查，并提供了 PA 和混杂因素的数据。PA 通过问卷进行评估。参与者根据 PA 水平分为 6 组。使用多元线性回归比较无 PA（完全无 PA）组与 6 个活动组（PA 水平逐渐增加）在 34 个感兴趣区域的脑 CT（mm）。
与无 PA 者相比，达到 1500-1999 代谢当量任务分钟/周（即约 6-7 小时快走锻炼）和 2000-2999 代谢当量任务分钟/周（即 8-11 小时快走锻炼）PA 水平的人，在梭状回和颞极的 CT 值更高。此外，在梭状回（B=0.011，SE=0.004，调整后 p=0.035）、颞极（B=0.026，SE=0.009，调整后 p=0.048）和额中回后部、内嗅皮质、眶额皮质、外侧枕叶和岛叶皮质中，PA 与 CT 之间存在剂量反应关系。
本研究表明，在 70 岁及以上人群中，与阿尔茨海默病相关的大脑区域（如梭状回）的 PA 水平与 CT 呈正相关。未来聚焦于 PA 类型的研究可能有助于填补该领域的知识空白。
