Department of Social Security, School of Public Administration, Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
School of Social Development, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China.
Psychol Sport Exerc. 2024 Sep;74:102685. doi: 10.1016/j.psychsport.2024.102685. Epub 2024 Jun 4.
Despite existing studies showing that physical exercise improves cognitive function in older adults either concurrently or in a delayed manner, studies examining these associations simultaneously are rare. Additionally, the underlying mechanisms in these associations remain incompletely understood.
This study explores the concurrent and delayed (two years later) associations between physical exercise and older adults' cognitive function. This study also investigates the mediating roles of three negative physical, psychological, and social resources: limitations in daily abilities, depressive mood, and isolation from friends, as well as the moderating roles of cognitive reserve on these associations.
A cohort sample of 6646 Chinese older adults (Mean age = 69.28, SD = 7.03) is obtained from the 2016 and 2018 waves of the China Longitudinal Aging Social Survey. Regression analysis was employed to test the concurrent and delayed associations between physical exercise and cognitive function. The bootstrap method was utilized to examine the mediating roles of limitations in daily activities, depression mood, and isolation from friends. Interaction terms were generated to investigate the moderating roles of cognitive reserve.
Physical exercise presents concurrent and delayed positive associations with cognitive function. Limitations in daily activities, depressive mood and isolation from friends mediate the above associations. Moreover, cognitive reserve plays a significant role in buffering the concurrent and delayed negative links between depressive mood, isolation from friends, and cognitive function, with larger negative relationships observed for older adults with lower rather than higher levels of cognitive reserve.
This study validates the concurrent and delayed benefits of physical exercise on older adults' cognitive function while elucidating the underlying mechanisms. These findings offer practical implications for health policies and intervention programs aimed at enhancing older adults' cognitive function.
尽管现有研究表明，体育锻炼可以改善老年人的认知功能，无论是在同时还是在延迟的情况下，但同时研究这些关联的研究很少。此外，这些关联的潜在机制仍不完全清楚。
本研究探讨了体育锻炼与老年人认知功能的同时和延迟（两年后）关联。本研究还调查了三种负面的身体、心理和社会资源（日常生活能力受限、抑郁情绪和与朋友隔离）的中介作用，以及认知储备对这些关联的调节作用。
从中国纵向老龄化社会调查 2016 年和 2018 年的两轮调查中，获得了 6646 名中国老年人（平均年龄=69.28，标准差=7.03）的队列样本。回归分析用于检验体育锻炼与认知功能之间的同时和延迟关联。采用自举法检验日常生活能力受限、抑郁情绪和与朋友隔离在其中的中介作用。生成交互项来研究认知储备的调节作用。
体育锻炼与认知功能呈同时和延迟的正相关。日常生活能力受限、抑郁情绪和与朋友隔离在上述关联中起中介作用。此外，认知储备在缓冲抑郁情绪、与朋友隔离与认知功能之间的同时和延迟负相关方面起着重要作用，对于认知储备水平较低而非较高的老年人，观察到的负相关关系更大。
本研究验证了体育锻炼对老年人认知功能的同时和延迟益处，同时阐明了潜在机制。这些发现为旨在提高老年人认知功能的健康政策和干预计划提供了实际意义。
