Grant: Travel Awards - Institute Community Support

Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) is a critical phase to intervene against dementia, since it represents a transition stage between healthy older adult cognitive function and dementia. Because there is no current drug therapy to treat MCI, effective behavioural strategies to maintain cognitive health in older adulthood are needed. Current evidence suggests physical activity (PA) and sedentary behaviour (SB) are two behaviours which are important for cognitive health. However, it is unclear if 1) PA and SB differences exist between individuals with and without MCI; or 2) if the relationships of PA and SB with cognitive function differ based on MCI status. We therefore investigated these two gaps in knowledge in a sample of older adults. Our results indicate that older adults with MCI have lower PA and higher SB than older adults with healthy cognitive function. In addition, higher PA and lower SB were associated with better cognitive performance for older adults with healthy cognitive function; however, PA and SB were not associated with cognitive performance for older adults with MCI. These data suggest 1) older adults with MCI are less physically active and more sedentary than their cognitively healthy counter-parts; and 2) the association of PA and SB with cognitive function differs based upon cognitive status.