Physical activity trajectories and their determinants in older adults with subjective cognitive decline: Results from a national cohort study.

OBJECTIVES

This study aims to investigate the trajectories of physical activity among older adults with subjective cognitive decline and explore the determinants influencing these trajectories within a national cohort.

DESIGN

Cohort study.

METHODS

We used data from a national cohort called the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study and included 1063 participants. The short international physical activity questionnaire was used to measure the moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, and group-based trajectory modeling was applied to explore the moderate-to-vigorous physical activity trajectories. The predictors were selected based on the social-ecological model. Multinomial logistic regression was conducted to identify the predictors of physical activity trajectories.

RESULTS

Our findings reveal three trajectories of physical activity among older adults with subjective cognitive decline: the rapid decline group (10.35 %), stable inactive group (80.62 %), and rapid growth group (9.03 %). Several determinants emerged as significant predictors influencing these trajectories, including age, smoking status, body mass index, number of comorbidities, mobility activities of daily life, marital status, family size, frequency of social activities, and residence.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study highlights the predominance of the stable inactive group among older adults with subjective cognitive decline, emphasizing the need for targeted interventions. Addressing some modified determinants, such as smoking status, body mass index, number of comorbidities, mobility activities of daily life, family size, frequency of social activities, and residence is crucial for promoting physical activity in this population.