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Published on: October 13, 2016
24-hour activity cycle behaviors and gray matter volume in mild cognitive impairment
Guilherme Moraes Balbim1,2,3, Nárlon C Boa Sorte Silva4, Ryan S Falck1,2,3
1Department of Physical Therapy, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Introduction:
The 24-hour activity cycle (24-HAC) includes physical activity (PA), sedentary behavior (SB), and sleep. The 24-HAC composition and brain health relationship in adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) remains underexplored. We examined associations between 24-HAC composition and gray matter (GM) volume.
Methods:
Cross-sectional study in 110 adults with MCI. Actigraphy assessed 24-HAC behaviors. FreeSurfer quantified GM. Compositional linear regressions and isotemporal substitution determined 24-HAC composition and GM volume associations.
Results:
Higher moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) relative to remaining behaviors was associated with greater right inferior temporal gyrus volume (ß = 0.30, false-discovery rate (FDR)-corrected-p = 0.030). Higher SB relative to remaining behaviors was associated with lower volume in the same region (ß = -0.45, FDR-corrected-p = 0.015). Reallocating 30 min from SB to MVPA predicted 2.1% greater (ß = 0.06, p < 0.001) and from MVPA to SB predicted 2.8% lower volume (ß = -0.08, p < 0.001).
Discussion:
Increasing MVPA at the expense of SB may protect GM in regions prone to Alzheimer's disease-related atrophy.
Trial Registrations:
ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02926157, NCT02737878, and NCT02669394.
Highlights:
The 24-hour behaviors are associated to inferior temporal volume in older adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). More moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) is linked with greater inferior temporal volume in older adults with MCI. Allocation from sedentary time to MVPA predicts greater inferior temporal volume.

