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Science

Study Title
Effect of aerobic exercise on cognition in younger adults
Publication
Neurology
Author(s)

Yaakov Stern, PhD, Anna MacKay-Brandt, PhD, Seonjoo Lee, PhD, Paula McKinley, PhD, Kathleen McIntyre, LCSW, Qolamreza Razlighi, PhD, Emil Agarunov, BS, Matthew Bartels, MD, MPH, and Richard P. Sloan, PhD

Abstract

Objective
To determine efficacy of aerobic exercise for cognitive function in younger healthy adults.
Methods
In a randomized, parallel-group, observer-masked, community-based clinical trial, 132 cognitively normal individuals aged 20–67 with below median aerobic capacity were randomly assigned to one of two 6-month, 4-times-weekly conditions: aerobic exercise and stretching/ toning. Efficacy measures included aerobic capacity; cognitive function in several domains (executive function, episodic memory, processing speed, language, and attention), everyday function, body mass index (BMI), and cortical thickness.
Results
Aerobic capacity increased significantly (β = 2.718; p = 0.003), and BMI decreased significantly (β = −0.596; p = 0.013) in the aerobic exercise but not in the stretching/toning condition. Executive function improved significantly in the aerobic exercise condition; this effect was moderated by age (β = 0.018 SD/y; p = 0.028). At age 40, the executive function measure increased by 0.228 SD (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.007–0.448), and by 0.596 SD (95% CI 0.219–0.973) at age 60. Cortical thickness increased significantly in the aerobic exercise group in a left frontal region and did not interact with age. Controlling for age and baseline performance, individuals with at least one APOE e4 allele showed less improvement in executive function with aerobic exercise (β = 0.5129, 95% CI 0.0381–0.988; p = 0.0346).
Conclusions
This randomized clinical trial demonstrates the efficacy of aerobic exercise for cognition in adults age 20–67. The effect of aerobic exercise on executive function was more pronounced as age increased, suggesting that it may mitigate age-related declines. Increased cortical thickness suggests that aerobic exercise contributes to brain health in individuals as young as age 20.

Date
February 26, 2019
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