The active ingredients: physical activity features linked to healthy brain aging

3 hours ago

A study of 279 older adults without dementia used wrist actigraphy to define physical activity sessions (at least 10 minutes at ≥40 steps/min), finding 79% engaged in at least one session, labeled 'exercisers'.
Exercisers had lower white matter hyperintensity burden compared to non-exercisers. Among exercisers, ridge regression models identified session frequency and session cadence as the most important predictors of brain health, especially for white matter health indices and executive function.
Out-of-session physical activity features were consistently among the least predictive factors. Associations between session features and brain health were relatively stronger in females, while interactions with age were minimal.
In non-exercisers, higher total daily step count still showed protective associations with medial temporal lobe volume, white matter hyperintensity burden, and global fractional anisotropy, suggesting any activity is better than none.
The findings emphasize that the structure of physical activity (frequency and intensity of sessions) matters more than sheer quantity for brain health in older adults, informing dementia prevention strategies.

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