Dataset Information

The effect of cycling on cognitive function and well-being in older adults.

ABSTRACT: It has been demonstrated that, on their own, both exercise and stimulation from the environment can improve cognitive function and well-being in older adults. The combined effect of exercising in the outdoor environment on psychological function is less well studied. The aim of the current study was to investigate the effect of an outdoor cycling intervention on cognitive function and mental health and well-being in older adults. A total of 100 older adults took part in the study (aged 50-83), 26 of which were non-cycling controls, 36 were conventional pedal cyclists and 38 were participants using an e-bike (a bike fitted with an electric motor to provide assistance with pedaling), as part of a larger project (www.cycleboom.org). Participants took part in the study for an eight-week period, with cycling participants required to cycle at least three times a week for thirty minutes in duration for each cycle ride. Cognitive function and well-being were measured before and after the intervention period. For executive function, namely inhibition (the Stroop task) and updating (Letter Updating Task), both cycling groups improved in accuracy after the intervention compared to non-cycling control participants. E-bike participants also improved in processing speed (reaction times in go trials of the Stop-It task) after the intervention compared to non-cycling control participants. Finally, e-bike participants improved in their mental health score after the intervention compared to non-cycling controls as measured by the SF-36. This suggests that there may be an impact of exercising in the environment on executive function and mental health. Importantly, we showed a similar (sometimes larger) effect for the e-bike group compared to the pedal cyclists. This suggests that it is not just the physical activity component of cycling that is having an influence. Both pedal cycles and e-bikes can enable increased physical activity and engagement with the outdoor environment with e-bikes potentially providing greater benefits.

SUBMITTER: Leyland LA

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6388745 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Similar Datasets

Project description:BackgroundThere is a growing number of studies indicating the major consequences of the subjective perception of well-being on mental health and healthcare use. However, most of the cognitive training research focuses more on the preservation of cognitive function than on the implications of the state of well-being. This secondary analysis of data from a randomised controlled trial investigated the effects of individualised television-based cognitive training on self-rated well-being using the WHO-5 index while considering gender and education as influencing factors. The effects of cognitive training were compared with leisure activities that the elderly could be engaged in to pass time.MethodsCognitively healthy participants aged 60 years or above screened using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and Major Depression Inventory (MDI) were randomly allocated to a cognitive training group or to an active control group in a single-blind controlled two-group design and underwent 24 training sessions. Data acquired from the WHO-5 questionnaire administered before and after intervention were statistically analysed using a mixed design model for repeated measures. The effect of individualised cognitive training was compared with leisure activities while the impact of gender and education was explored using estimated marginal means.ResultsA total of 81 participants aged 67.9 ± 5.59 [60-84] without cognitive impairments and absent of depression symptoms underwent the study. Participants with leisure time activities declared significantly higher scores compared to participants with cognitive training M = 73.48 ± 2.88, 95% CI [67.74-79.22] vs M = 64.13 ± 3.034, 95% CI [58.09-70.17] WHO-5 score. Gender and education were found to moderate the effect of cognitive training on well-being when compared to leisure activities. Females engaged in leisure activities in the control group reported higher by M = 9.77 ± 5.4, 95% CI [-0.99-20.54] WHO-5 scores than females with the cognitive training regimen. Participants with high school education declared leisure activities to increase WHO-5 scores by M = 14.59 ± 5.39, 95% CI [3.85-25.34] compared to individualised cognitive training.DiscussionThe findings revealed that individualised cognitive training was not directly associated with improvements in well-being. Changes in the control group indicated that involvement in leisure time activities, in which participants were partly free to choose from, represented more favourable stimulation to a self-perceived sense of well-being than individualised cognitive training. Results also supported the fact that gender and education moderated the effect of cognitive training on well-being. Females and participants with high school education were found to be negatively impacted in well-being when performance connected with cognitive training was expected.

Project description:IntroductionSocial networks play a role in slowing the development of dementia. However, there is a need for further investigation of the effects of improving social networks on health-related quality of life and cognitive performance. Targeted community aged care services are a central strategy for supporting older adults to initiate and maintain their social engagement with other individuals at all stages of later life. This protocol describes a prospective observational cohort study aimed at (1) characterising interpersonal relationships in older adults receiving community care services, (2) assessing the relationship social networks and health-related quality of life and cognition and (3) identifying the association between community care use, social networks and cognition. The findings will contribute to our understanding of how specific social network structures and social support services can maintain cognitive function in community-dwelling older adults.Methods and analysisThis is a prospective, observational cohort study of 201 older Australians residing in the community and receiving care services from one of three aged care organisations. Clients with a history of neurological injury will be excluded. Participants will undergo baseline measures of social networks, health-related quality of life and cognitive function, and a follow-up at 6 months. Service use and sociodemographic variables will also be collected. The primary outcome is cognitive function, and secondary outcomes include social networks and health-related quality of life. Multivariable linear regression will test the hypothesis that increased social networks are associated with an increase in cognitive function.Ethics and disseminationApproval of the study by Macquarie University Research Ethics Committee (reference number 5201831394062) has been obtained. This work will be disseminated by publication of peer-reviewed manuscripts, presentations in abstract form at scientific meetings and results will be made available to home and community-based care older adults and care staff of the involved organisations.Trial registration numberACTRN12618001723279; Pre-results.

Project description:BACKGROUND:Poor eye-hand coordination is associated with the symptoms of the early stage of cognitive decline. However, previous research on the eye-hand coordination of older adults without cognitive impairment is scant. Therefore, this study examined the effects of interactive cognitive-motor training on the visual-motor integration, visual perception, and motor coordination sub-abilities of the eye-hand coordination and cognitive function in older adults. METHODS:A double-blind randomized controlled trial was conducted with older adults. Sixty-two older adults were randomly assigned to the experimental (interactive cognitive-motor training) or active control (passive information activity) group, and both groups received 30?min of training each week, three times a week for 8?weeks. The primary outcome was eye-hand coordination, which was further divided into the sub-abilities of visual-motor integration, visual perception, and motor coordination. The secondary outcome was cognitive function. The generalized estimating equation was used to examine differences in immediate posttest, 3-month posttest, and 6-month posttest results between the two groups. Additionally, the baseline effect sizes were compared with the effect sizes of the immediate posttest, 3-month posttest, and 6-month posttests for the experimental group. RESULTS:There were no statistically significant differences between the intervention and control groups. The only statistically significant difference between the groups was in the attention dimension of cognitive function (p =?0.04). The visual-motor integration results showed a small to moderate effect size for pre post comparisons. CONCLUSIONS:The 24 sessions of interactive cognitive-motor training showed no difference to an active control intervention. In the future, this intervention could be further investigated to establish whether it can be superior to an active control group in other populations. TRIAL REGISTRATION:The study protocol has been published on Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR) (registry no.: ChiCTR-IOR-14005490 ).

Dataset Information

The effect of cycling on cognitive function and well-being in older adults.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets