Cardiorespiratory fitness and cognition in persons at risk for Alzheimer's disease.

Introduction: This study examined the relationship between cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and longitudinal cognitive functioning in a cohort enriched with risk factors for Alzheimer's disease (AD).
Methods: A total of 155 enrollees in the Wisconsin Registry for Alzheimer's Prevention completed repeat comprehensive neuropsychological evaluations that assessed six cognitive domains. Peak oxygen consumption (VO ₂ peak) was the primary measure of CRF. Random effects regression was used to investigate the effect of CRF on cognitive trajectories.
Results: Higher CRF was associated with slower decline in the cognitive domains of verbal learning and memory ( P  < .01) and visual learning and memory ( P  < .042). Secondary analyses indicated that these effects were stronger among men than women, and for noncarriers of the apolipoprotein E ε4 allele.
Discussion: Higher CRF was associated with a slower rate of the decline in episodic memory that occurs as a natural consequence of aging in a cohort enriched with risk factors for AD.
Competing Interests: The authors report no conflicts of interest.
(© 2022 The Authors. Alzheimer's & Dementia: Diagnosis, Assessment & Disease Monitoring published by Wiley Periodicals, LLC on behalf of Alzheimer's Association.)