Association of Estimated Cardiorespiratory Fitness with the Incidence of Cognitive Impairment in Middle-Aged and Older Adults: Based on 12 Years Follow-Up Data from the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging

Abstract

Purpose This study investigated association of estimated cardiorespiratory fitness (eCRF) with the incidence of cognitive impairment in Korean middle-aged and older adults. Methods Total of 4,239 subjects (53% women) aged ≥45 years, who participated in the Korean longitudinal study of aging (KLoSA) were included. Participants were classified into 4 categories from the lowest quartile to the highest quartile based on eCRF distribu¬tions. Korean version of mini-mental status examination (K-MMSE) was used to assessed mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and severe cognitive impairment (SCI). Cox's proportional regression analyses were used to determine the hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) of eCRF categories for having MCI and SCI. Results During 12-years of follow-up, there were 736 (17.4%) and 272 (6.4%) cases of incidence from MCI and SCI, respectively. In women, compared to the quartile 1 group (reference, HR=1), the quartile 4 group had significantly lower HRs of having incidence of MCI/SCI (HR=0.72, 95% CI=0.55-0.94, p=.015) and MCI (HR=0.73, 95% CI=0.54-0.99, p=.045). However, in men, eCRF was not associated with incidence of cognitive impairment. Conclusions The current findings suggest that eCRF may be an independent predictor of cognitive impairment in middle-aged and older women.

Keywords

• estimated cardiorespiratory fitness
• cognitive impairment
• middle-aged and older adults
• longitudinal study