A pilot study evaluating the association between physical activity and cognition among individuals with Parkinson's disease

Abstract Background Few studies have examined the association between daily physical activity and cognitive function among older adults with Parkinson's disease (PD). Objective Here we evaluate the association between accelerometer-assessed physical activity and cognition among older patients with PD. Methods Cognition assessed via the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA). Moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) was assessed via accelerometry over a 1–2 week monitoring period. Results After adjusting for motor impairment severity, for every 1 min/day increase in MVPA, participants had a 0.09 unit increase in MoCA-determined cognitive function (β = 0.09; 95% CI: −0.003–0.19; P = 0.05). When further adjusting for motor impairment, age and gender, results were unchanged (β = 0.09; 95% CI: 0.004–0.19; P = 0.04). Conclusion The present study provides suggestive evidence of a favorable association between daily physical activity behavior and cognitive function among adults with PD.