Department of Epidemiology, Erasmus MC University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
Department of Epidemiology, Erasmus MC University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Erasmus MC University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
Neurobiol Aging. 2023 Jan;121:28-37. doi: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2022.10.002. Epub 2022 Oct 13.
Physical activity has been suggested as modifiable factor that might contribute to improving cognitive and brain function during aging. However, previous studies were mainly of cross-sectional design and did not consider effects of time or potential reverse causality. We aimed to investigate the bidirectional associations of physical activity with brain structure in middle-aged and older adults. Overall, 4365 participants (64.01 ± 10.82 years; 56% women) from the Rotterdam Study had physical activity and brain structure assessed on at least one of 2 timepoints ('baseline': 2006-2012 or 'follow-up': 2012-2017, median duration between visits: 5 years). Physical activity was assessed through the LASA Physical Activity Questionnaire. T1-weighted MRI and diffusion tensor imaging were used to quantify brain volumes and white matter microstructure, respectively. Cross-lagged panel models were performed to estimate bidirectional associations, and linear mixed-effects models to investigate the consistency of findings. Larger total brain volume (β = 0.067, 95%-confidence interval 0.035;0.099, p = 0.001), gray matter volume (β = 0.063, 0.031;0.096, p = 0.002), and white matter volume (β = 0.051, 0.020;0.083, p = 0.013) at baseline were associated with higher levels of sports at follow-up. Lower global mean diffusivity at baseline was associated with higher levels of walking at follow-up (β = -0.074, -0.111;-0.037, p = 0.001). No associations were found between physical activity levels at baseline and brain metrics at follow-up. In conclusion, larger brain volumes and white matter microstructure at baseline were associated with individuals remaining more physically active at follow-up. Overall, this study identified older adults with potentially advanced brain aging status as being at higher risk of physical inactivity over time, and therefore as potential target group for prevention and novel intervention strategies.
身体活动一直被认为是可能有助于改善衰老过程中认知和大脑功能的可改变因素。然而，之前的研究主要是横断面设计，没有考虑时间效应或潜在的反向因果关系。我们旨在研究身体活动与中年及老年人大脑结构之间的双向关联。总体而言，来自鹿特丹研究的 4365 名参与者（64.01±10.82 岁；56%为女性）至少在两个时间点之一（“基线”：2006-2012 年或“随访”：2012-2017 年）进行了身体活动和大脑结构评估（两次访问之间的中位时间间隔为 5 年）。身体活动通过 LASA 身体活动问卷进行评估。T1 加权 MRI 和弥散张量成像分别用于量化脑容量和白质微观结构。进行交叉滞后面板模型以估计双向关联，并使用线性混合效应模型来研究结果的一致性。基线时较大的总脑容量（β=0.067，95%置信区间 0.035；0.099，p=0.001）、灰质容量（β=0.063，0.031；0.096，p=0.002）和白质容量（β=0.051，0.020；0.083，p=0.013）与随访时的运动水平较高相关。基线时较低的整体平均弥散度与随访时步行水平较高相关（β=-0.074，-0.111；-0.037，p=0.001）。在基线时的身体活动水平与随访时的大脑指标之间未发现关联。总之，基线时较大的脑容量和白质微观结构与随访时个体保持更高的身体活动水平相关。总体而言，这项研究确定了大脑老化状态可能较早的老年人随着时间的推移更有可能不活动，因此可能是预防和新干预策略的潜在目标人群。
