Objectives: The authors tested the hypothesis that total daily physical activity is related to the level of cognition in older persons.
Design: Cross-sectional study.
Setting: Retirement communities across the Chicago metropolitan area.
Participants: Five hundred twenty-one older persons without dementia.
Measurements: Participants underwent structured evaluation of cognition and objective measures of total daily physical activity were collected using actigraphy.
Results: In a linear regression model adjusted for age, sex, and education, total daily activity was associated with a global measure of cognition. By contrast, self-report physical activity was not associated with cognition. Further analyses showed that total daily activity was related to all five cognitive subscales.
Conclusions: Objective measures of total daily physical activity were associated with a broad range of cognitive abilities in older persons. These findings support the link between physical activity and cognition in the elderly.