Does Cognitive Activity Promote Healthy Aging

本研究旨在分析妇女健康与老龄化研究II （WHAS II）收集的数据，该研究是一项前瞻性、观察性队列研究，研究对象为非残疾老年妇女，以评估认知活动是否可能对身体和认知功能产生下游益处，从而促进健康老龄化。具体目的是：1)评估认知活动对健康和身体功能组成部分的影响，共变的社会人口，健康和流动性因素；2)评估与身体功能成分维持或下降相关的高强度和中等强度认知活动（频率、广度）的参数；3)开始发展认知活动如何直接介导身体功能保留的概念框架，或者它是否与其他中介（如认知或心理健康）混淆。研究参与者是基于人群的436名社区居住妇女，她们的基线年龄为70-80岁，1994-95年认知和身体功能高。他们完成了3次综合检查，每隔18个月进行一次，包括一份广泛的认知活动问卷，以及认知、身体功能和身心健康史的综合评估。WHAS II现在正在启动第二波为期5年的随访，以评估功能衰退的自然历史。从这项资助中获得的结果将推动和指导关于认知活动在老年妇女身体功能下降或维持中可能发挥的作用的进一步研究。如果日常生活中的认知挑战有助于维持认知和身体能力，那么它们就为设计相对廉价和良性的干预措施以减少残疾和依赖的风险提供了巨大的潜力。研究结果，无论是积极的还是消极的，都对延缓或预防老年人残疾的干预措施的发展理论产生了影响。在我们面对老龄化社会的人口和经济现实时，促进身体和认知健康的创新和具有成本效益的方法越来越重要。

This proposal seeks support to analyze data collected in the Women's Health and Aging Study II (WHAS II), a prospective, observational cohort study of non-disabled, older women to evaluate whether cognitive activity may exert downstream benefits on physical as well as cognitive functions to promote healthy aging. The specific aims are to: 1) evaluate the impact of cognitive activity on health and components of physical function, covarying for sociodemographic, health, and mobility factors; 2) evaluate those parameters of high and moderate intensity cognitive activity (frequency, breadth) associated with the maintenance of or decline in components of physical function, and; 3) to begin to develop a conceptual framework of how cognitive activity may directly mediate the reservation of physical functions, or whether it operates as a confound with other mediators, such as cognition or psychological well-being. Study participants are a population-based sample of 436 community-dwelling women who were 70-80 years of age at baseline and cognitively and physically high functioning in 1994-95. They have completed 3 comprehensive examinations, each 18 months apart, which include an extensive cognitive activity questionnaire and comprehensive assessment of cognition, physical function, and mental and physical health history. The WHAS II is now initiating a second 5-year wave of follow-up to assess the natural history of functional decline. Results obtained from this grant should propel and guide additional research on the role that cognitive activity may play in the decline or maintenance of physical functions in older women. If cognitive challenges in everyday life facilitate the maintenance of cognitive and physical abilities, they offer great potential for devising relatively inexpensive and benign interventions to reduce the risk of disability and dependency. Findings, either positive or negative, have implications for theories on the development of interventions to delay or prevent disability in aging adults. Innovative and cost-effective approaches to promoting physical and cognitive health are of growing importance as we confront the demographic and economic realities of an aging society.