Relationship between Brain Atrophy and Motor Reserve in Older Adults

Activity: Talk or presentation types › Oral presentation

Description

Aging is a major risk factor for neurodegenerative diseases. Brain atrophy is strongly associated with cognitive decline that could progress further to dementia. Total physical activity is positively associated with brain volume and cognition in older adults; however, there is still a research gap considering the association between the life-long physical activity or motor reserve and brain health in older adults. This study aimed to identify associations between motor reserve and brain atrophy in a sample non-demented older adult.. 55 practically healthy older adults participated in the study. All participants underwent a detailed assessment of their lifestyle, as well as structural magnetic resonance. Visual rating scales were used to grade the level of brain atrophy. Social Determinants of Health Behaviors questionnaire (FINBALT) was performed to obtain physical activity data and a motor reserve coefficient was created. . There was a negative significant correlation between the motor reserve score and parietal atrophy in the right and left hemisphere, the total parietal atrophy index, the entorhinal cortex atrophy in the right and left hemisphere, the total entorhinal cortex atrophy index, and frontotemporal atrophy in the left hemisphere. Mann-Whitney U test revealed that only left hemisphere and total ERICA scores significantly differed across groups, with higher motor reserve group showing lesser brain atrophy (U = 233, z = -2.262, p < .05 and U = 246, z = -1.895, p ≤ .05, accordingly). . Our study indicated that lifelong participation in physical activity is associated with a lower degree of brain atrophy in the parietal regions, the entorhinal cortex, and the left frontotemporal hemisphere. Promoting participation in activities may be beneficial for attenuating age-related parietal, entorhinal and frontotemporal atrophy and for preventing dementia.
Period29 Mar 2023
Event titleRSU International Research Conference 2023: Knowledge for Use in Practice
Event typeConference
OrganiserRīga Stradiņš University
LocationRiga, LatviaShow on map
Degree of RecognitionInternational

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