Original studyPhysical Activity Participation May Offset Some of the Negative Impact of Diabetes on Cognitive Function
Section snippets
Methods
A total of 145 subjects, ages 36 to 86 years, 74 with T2 DM (DM) and 71 nondiabetic controls (CON), participated in this study after giving their written consent. Prior to their enrollment, the study was approved by the Institutional Review Board at Old Dominion University. All subjects reported to the laboratory in the morning where they underwent a fasting blood draw and were given a battery of tests. The testing included 2 cognitive ones (Mini-Mental State Exam [MMSE] and the Saint Louis
Results
The characteristics of the subjects are listed in Table 1. As expected, the DM group had higher blood glucose and insulin levels, as well as elevated HbA1c. The groups differed by physical activity and exercise patterns (Table 2), with a greater percentage of CON subjects (71.8%) classified as “regular exercisers” compared with DM (55.4%; P < .01). CON subjects also walked significantly more city blocks per day, climbed more flights of stairs, and differed from DM in activity levels on weekday
Discussion
The primary goal of this study was to determine whether regular exercisers have a better cognitive status compared with nonexercisers and, more importantly, if subjects with diabetes who are regular exercisers have better cognitive function than sedentary diabetic (and even possibly control) subjects. The results demonstrated that diabetes has a negative impact on cognitive function measured with one measure of cognitive function, the MMSE, even when it is fairly intact in the groups being
Conclusion
Certain types of physical activity appear to be beneficial in the maintenance of cognitive function given that both MMSE and SLUMS scores were positively associated with a greater duration of weekday light exercise and SLUMS scores correlated with longer moderate exercise on weekends. Longer weekend sitting also was associated with higher blood glucose levels and greater depression, and a number of physical activity behaviors were inversely associated with depression, which by itself is a risk
Acknowledgments
The authors are most appreciative of the efforts of Lauren Piccillo, Khededra Lewis, and Margaret Larsen in assisting with the collection of these data. In addition, we would like to acknowledge the skill and expertise of Kimberly Baskette and Rebecca Warren in obtaining fasting blood work and to thank them for their excellent technical support.
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This research was fully supported by funding from the Commonwealth of Virginia Alzheimer's and Related Diseases Research Award Fund.