Cited by 363Dementia and Cognitive Impairment ResearchPhysical Activity and HealthCardiovascular and exercise physiology

Cardiorespiratory fitness and brain atrophy in early Alzheimer disease.

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Burns, J. M., Cronk, B. B., Anderson, H. S., Donnelly, J. E., Thomas, G. P., Harsha, A., Brooks, W. M., Swerdlow, R. H.·2008·Neurology

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To examine the correlation of cardiorespiratory fitness with brain atrophy and cognition in early-stage Alzheimer disease (AD). BACKGROUND: In normal aging physical fitness appears to mitigate functional and structural age-related brain changes. Whether this is observed in AD is not known. METHODS: Subjects without dementia (n = 64) and subjects with early-stage AD (n = 57) had MRI and standard clinical and psychometric evaluations. Peak oxygen consumption (VO(2)(peak)), the standard measure of cardiorespiratory fitness, was assessed during a graded treadmill test. Normalized whole brain volume, a brain atrophy estimate, was determined by MRI. Pearson correlation and linear regression were used to assess fitness in relation to brain volume and cognitive performance. RESULTS: Cardiorespiratory fitness (VO(2)(peak)) was modestly reduced in subjects with AD (34.7 [5.0] mL/kg/min) vs subjects without dementia (38.1 [6.3] mL/kg/min, p = 0.002). In early AD, VO(2)(peak) was associated with whole brain volume (beta = 0.35, p = 0.02) and white matter volume (beta = 0.35, p = 0.04) after controlling for age. Controlling for additional covariates of sex, dementia severity, physical activity, and physical frailty did not attenuate the relationships. VO(2)(peak) was associated with performance on delayed memory and digit symbol in early AD but not after controlling for age. In participants with no dementia, there was no relationship between fitness and brain atrophy. Fitness in participants with no dementia was associated with better global cognitive performance (r = 0.30, p = 0.02) and performance on Trailmaking A and B, Stroop, and delayed logical memory but not after controlling for age. CONCLUSIONS: Increased cardiorespiratory fitness is associated with reduced brain atrophy in Alzheimer disease (AD). Cardiorespiratory fitness may moderate AD-related brain atrophy or a common underlying AD-related process may impact both brain atrophy and cardiorespiratory fitness.

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  • A higher level of cardiorespiratory fitness is associated with favorable structural brain changes in older adults and individuals with Alzheimer's disease.

    “(iii) favorable structural brain changes in older adults (Colcombe et al., 2003; Erickson et al., 2009; Szabo et al., 2011; Bugg et al., 2012) and individuals with Alzheimer’s disease (Burns et al., 2008; Honea et al., 2009; Vidoni et al., 2012).”

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Authors
Burns, J. M., Cronk, B. B., Anderson, H. S., Donnelly, J. E., Thomas, G. P., Harsha, A., Brooks, W. M., & Swerdlow, R. H.
Affiliations
University of Kansas (US)
Venue
Neurology
Published
2008-07-15
Volume
71
Issue
3
Pages
210-216
ISSN
  • 0028-3878 (ISSN-L)
  • 1526-632X
OpenAlex
W1963796716
Cited by
363
References
44
Citations by year
2026: 7 · 2025: 10 · 2024: 14 · 2023: 10 · 2022: 17 · 2021: 13 · 2020: 24 · 2019: 23 · 2018: 15 · 2017: 23 · 2016: 24 · 2015: 21 · 2014: 29 · 2013: 34 · 2012: 24
FWCI
17.52
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Neurology (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
Funders
  • U.S. Public Health Service (C76HF00201)
  • National Institute on Aging (AG026482, R21AG029615, R03AG026374, R21AG026482)
  • National Institute of Mental Health (R01 MH71940, R01MH071940)
  • National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NS 039123, K23NS058252, R01NS039123)
  • National Center for Research Resources (P41RR013642, U54RR021813, M01RR023940)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Research
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Physical Activity and Health
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Complementary and alternative medicine › Cardiovascular and exercise physiology
Keywords
cardiorespiratory fitness, brain atrophy, early Alzheimer's disease, peak oxygen uptake, total brain volume, white matter volume, cognitive performance, normal aging
MeSH terms
Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Aging, Alzheimer Disease, Atrophy, Brain, Cognition, Cross-Sectional Studies, Exercise Test, Female, Humans, Male, Physical Fitness, Time Factors, Respiratory Mechanics

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