Grant: Travel Awards - Institute Community Support

Currently, more than 747,000 Canadians are living with cognitive impairment and dementia, and this number is expected to double to 1.4 million by the year 2031. There is no effective treatment or cure for dementia, indicating an urgent need for prevention research. Type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure are two conditions that may increase the risk of cognitive decline and dementia. On the other hand, physical activity can reduce the risk or delay the onset of cognitive decline. Physical activity interventions have shown that older adults can improve their cognitive functioning through increased aerobic and resistance exercise. Previous research has been limited in the following ways: 1) interventions focus on healthy individuals, 2) the effect of multiple health conditions is rarely addressed, and 3) less is known about how exercise may improve cognition within the same day. In this study, a sample of 60 older adults with type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure will be randomly assigned to a 3-month exercise intervention or a control group. Participants will wear activity trackers which will collect daily step counts and heart rate data, providing detailed information on the intensity of physical activity. Additionally, participants will complete a cognitive test battery at the beginning and end of the study, as well as brief computerized cognitive measures each week. We hypothesize that the intervention group will perform significantly better than the control group on the follow-up cognitive tests. We also expect that participants will demonstrate better cognitive performance on days when they are more active than usual. This research has the potential to inform interventions for individuals with two highly prevalent health conditions. By intervening before signs of cognitive impairment are observable, we may be able to combat the growing rates of dementia in Canada.