Abstract
Cognitive impairment has become one of the main threats to health and well-being among the 7% of Canadians who are 75 years and older. Physical activity (PA) has been associated with improved cognitive function or reduced decline in the elderly, yet little is known about the neuroprotective effects of PA in elite older aged athletes (Master’s athletes, MA). This study: (i) examined the association between physical fitness (VO2max) and cognitive function (attention, memory, learning, processing speed) generally and (ii) compared mean cognitive function between world-ranking elite elderly (≥75 years of age) MA (n = 15) and age-sex-matched inactive controls (n = 14). Based on Pearson correlation coefficients, fitness was associated with verbal learning and memory (r = .37 to .51, p < .05) assessed using the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT) and Mini Mental State Exam (MMSE). Verbal fluency (assessed using phonemic and semantic tests), attention/processing speed (assessed using Trail Making Tests (TMT)), and executive function (assessed using Digits Forward and Backward tests, and the Modified Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (M-WCST)) were not significantly associated with fitness. MA were significantly better on verbal learning and memory tasks (RAVLT: t(1,28) = 2.99 to 3.62; MMSE: t(1,28) = 3.03) and faster on processing speed tasks (TMT: t(1,28) = -2.09). Based on these findings, MA may demonstrate a profile that is protective of cognitive decline in areas of verbal learning, memory, and attention/processing speed.
