Women have the power: When motor efficiency makes the difference in older individuals of the sardinian blue zone

Abstract

This study was mainly aimed at exploring the effect of gender on the patterns of Physical Activty (PA) in older people living in an area of exceptional longevity, the so-called Sardinian Blue Zone. Furthermore, the study intended to investigate the nature of the relationships among PA metrics, cognitive measures, and age. One hundred and nine community-dwelling participants (M_age = 81.7 years old, SD = 8.1 years) completed a battery of cognitive tests (i.e., Mini-Mental State Examination and Trail Making Test) and were provided a wearable accelerometer to collect data for 7 consecutive days about amount and intensity of the performed PA on a daily basis. A series of Analyses of Covariance was conducted to examine the impact of gender on PA variables, whereas the global cognitive functioning measure was used as a covariate. Thus, it was found that women outperformed men in terms of a more active lifestyle, as indicated by the significantly reduced sedentary behavior and increased percentage of time spent in PA of moderate to vigorous intensity (MVPA). Moreover, significant associations were found among age, PA, and cognitive measures. Finally, global cognitive functioning was significantly associated with MVPA and overall accelerometric counts, as well as significant relationships were found between time spent in sedentary behavior and MVPA, accelerometric counts, speed of processing, and cognitive flexibility, respectively. Overall, these outcomes suggest that older individuals, especially women, exhibiting more preserved cognitive efficiency also reported superior levels of PA. Therefore, the promotion of a more active lifestyle is essential to achieve better functional and cognitive health in late adulthood.