Featured Article Independent and combined effects of cognitive and physical activity on incident MCI

Introduction: The objective of this study was to examine the independent and combined influences of late-life cognitive activity (CA) and physical activity (PA) on the risk of incident mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Methods: We usedintervalcensored survivalmodelingtoexaminetheriskofincidentMCI(Clinical Dementia Rating [CDR] 5 0.5) as a function of CA (high vs. low) and at least moderate intensity PA (any vs. none) among 864 cognitively normal (CDR 5 0) older adults. Results: During three annual follow-up waves, 72 participants developed MCI. Compared with low CAwith no PA, significant reductions in risk for MCI were observed for high CAwith any PA (hazards ratio (HR) 5 0.20, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.07‐0.52) and low CA with any PA (HR 5 0.52, 95% CI 0.29‐0.93), but not for high CA without PA (HR 5 0.94, 95% CI 0.45‐1.95). Discussion: These findings suggest that a combination of CA and PA may be most efficacious at reducing the risk for cognitive impairment. 2015 The Alzheimer’s Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.