An observational study of 3,093 adults linked higher activity histories to better performance on several cognitive tasks. Wearable step measurements and blood pressure were compared with a later, single assessment of cognition. The associations varied by task; without an earlier cognitive assessment, the study cannot determine whether activity preceded a change in thinking or attention.
Higher activity histories accompanied better sustained attention and performance on several other tasks in 3,093 adults from All of Us, a US health research program. The peer-reviewed observational analysis used Fitbit step measurements and blood pressure from a 2009–2023 data window. Cognition was tested once after that window, allowing comparisons between participants rather than measurement of each person’s cognitive change.[1]
After demographic factors and blood pressure were accounted for, higher modeled baseline activity was associated with sustained-attention, delay-discounting and Flanker scores. These tasks assess attention, choices between earlier and later rewards, and responses amid distraction. Higher systolic pressure accompanied a lower score on choices involving delayed rewards. Both activity and blood pressure lacked a clear adjusted association with recognizing emotions in faces.[1]
Rates of change in activity and blood pressure did not show associations with the cognitive outcomes. The sample overrepresented people with health insurance, higher education and White backgrounds, limiting how widely the results apply. Without baseline cognitive scores, people with better pre-existing cognition may simply have maintained greater activity. Statistical adjustment also leaves possible unmeasured confounding; repeated cognitive assessments are needed to examine whether activity precedes within-person change.[1]
