Physical Activity Moderates the Relationship between Cardiovascular Disease Risk Burden and Cognition in Older Adults

Introduction: Older individuals with a higher cardiovascular disease (CVD) burden have a higher risk for accelerated cognitive decline and dementia. Physical activity (PA) is an inexpensive and accessible preventive measure to CVD, cognitive impairment, and dementia. The current study examined (1) whether PA moderates the relationship between CVD burden and cognition and (2) whether the moderating effect of PA differs by race/ethnicity groups and by APOE-epsilon 4 status. Methods: Our cross-sectional study included participants from the Washington Heights-Inwood Columbia Aging Project (WHICAP), a multiethnic, community-based, longitudinal study on aging and dementia among individuals aged 65 years and older who reside in northern Manhattan. All participants underwent an interview and a neuropsychological assessment for global cognition, memory, language, visuospatial, and speed functioning. Results: In 2,122 older individuals without dementia, having a higher CVD burden was associated with worse cognitive scores for global, language, speed, and visuospatial cognitive functions. PA mitigated the relationship between CVD burden and visuospatial function. Furthermore, PA mitigated the association of CVD burden with global cognition, language, and visuospatial functions in APOE-epsilon 4 carriers but not in non-carriers. Discussion/Conclusion: Our study suggests that PA may mitigate the negative association between CVD and cognition, especially in APOE-epsilon 4 carriers. The moderating effect of PA did not differ by race/ethnicity.