Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT: Background
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease that results in severe disability. Very few studies have explored changes in daily physical activity patterns during early stages of AD when components of physical function and mobility may be preserved.Objective
Our study explored differences in daily physical activity profiles, independent of the effects of non-cognitive factors including physical function and age, among individuals with mild AD compared to controls.Methods
Patients with mild AD and controls (n = 92) recruited from the University of Kansas Alzheimer's Disease Center Registry, wore the Actigraph GT3X+ for seven days, and provided objective physical function (VO2 max) and mobility data. Using multivariate linear regression, we explored whether individuals with mild AD had different daily average and diurnal physical activity patterns compared to controls independent of non-cognitive factors that may affect physical activity, including physical function and mobility.Results
We found that mild AD was associated with less moderate-intensity physical activity (p < 0.05), lower peak activity (p < 0.01), and lower physical activity complexity (p < 0.05) particularly during the morning. Mild AD was not associated with greater sedentary activity or less lower-intensity physical activity across the day after adjusting for non-cognitive covariates.Conclusions
These findings suggest that factors independent of physical capacity and mobility may drive declines in moderate-intensity physical activity, and not lower-intensity or sedentary activity, during the early stage of AD. This underscores the importance of a better mechanistic understanding of how cognitive decline and AD pathology impact physical activity. Findings emphasize the potential value of designing and testing time-of-day specific physical activity interventions targeting individuals in the early stages of AD, prior to significant declines in mobility and physical function.
SUBMITTER: Varma VR
PROVIDER: S-EPMC5859579 | biostudies-literature | 2017
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD 20170101 2
<h4>Background</h4>Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease that results in severe disability. Very few studies have explored changes in daily physical activity patterns during early stages of AD when components of physical function and mobility may be preserved.<h4>Objective</h4>Our study explored differences in daily physical activity profiles, independent of the effects of non-cognitive factors including physical function and age, among individuals with mild AD compared to cont ...[more]