1. Cognitively high-performing oldest old individuals are physically active and have strong motor skills–A study of the Danish 1905 and 1915 birth cohorts.
- Author
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Hermansen, Maja, Nygaard, Marianne, Tan, Qihua, Jeune, Bernard, Semkovska, Maria, Christensen, Kaare, Thinggaard, Mikael, and Mengel-From, Jonas
- Subjects
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MOTOR ability , *LIFESTYLES , *COGNITIVE testing , *QUESTIONNAIRES , *NONAGENARIANS , *DESCRIPTIVE statistics , *LONGITUDINAL method , *AGING , *BODY movement , *WALKING speed , *PHYSICAL activity , *ACTIVITIES of daily living , *GRIP strength , *MENTAL depression - Abstract
Preserving cognitive function with age or super-aging greatly contributes to successful aging. Super-aging nonagenarians born in Denmark in either year 1905 or 1915 were classified as Cognitively High-Performing Oldest Old individuals with a five item cognitive composite score, equivalent to or better than mean middle-aged subjects. Cognitively high-performers were more physically active and had a better physical performance on e.g., Activity of Daily Living (p-value < 0.01), gait speed (p-value < 0.01) and grip strength (p-value < 0.05) compared with age-matched peers. Cognitive high-performing was also linked to lower depression symptomatology. When comparing super-agers with semi super-agers classified by Mini Mental State Examination > 27, super-agers were still more physically active and had a better physical performance (p-value < 0.05). Results suggests that physical activity is a lifestyle factor strongly associated with both semi and full cognitive super-aging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
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