Mid- and Late-Life Leisure-Time Physical Activity and Global Brain Amyloid Burden: The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC)-PET Study

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Palta, Priya^{a; *} | Heiss, Gerardo^b | Sharrett, A. Richey^c | Gabriel, Kelley Pettee^d | Walker, Keenan^e | Evenson, Kelly R.^b | Knopman, David^f | Mosley, Thomas H.^g | Wong, Dean F.^{h; i; j} | Gottesman, Rebecca F.^{c; e}

Affiliations: [a] Division of General Medicine, Department of Medicine, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA | [b] Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA | [c] Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA | [d] Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA | [e] Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA | [f] Department of Neurology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA | [g] Department of Medicine, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS, USA | [h] Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA | [i] Department of Environmental Health and Engineering, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA | [j] Washington University in St. Louis, School of Medicine, Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, St. Louis, MO, USA

Correspondence: [*] Correspondence to: Priya Palta, PhD MHS, 622 West 168th Street, PH9 Center, Room 212, New York, NY 10032, USA. Tel.: +1 212 304 7561; E-mail: pp2464@cumc.columbia.edu.

Abstract: Background:Physical activity (PA) may slow the development of dementia by reducing the accumulation of amyloid. Objective:We tested the hypothesis that higher levels of leisure-time PA in mid- or late-life were associated with lower brain amyloid burden in late-life among 326 non-demented participants from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study of brain florbetapir positron emission tomography (ARIC-PET) ancillary. Methods:Self-reported PA was quantified using a past-year recall, interviewer-administered questionnaire in mid-life (1987-1989, aged 45–64 years) and late-life (2011-2013, aged 67–89 years). Continuous PA estimates were classified as 1) any leisure-time PA participation (yes/no); 2) meeting the 2018 United States’ PA guidelines (yes/no); and 3) per 1 standard deviation (SD) higher metabolic equivalent of task (MET) minutes per week (MET·min·wk-1). A brain magnetic resonance imaging scan with Florbetapir PET was performed in late-life. Adjusted odds ratios (OR) of elevated amyloid burden, defined as a global cortical standardized uptake value ratio (>1.2), compared to no elevated amyloid burden were estimated according to PA measures. Results:Among the 326 participants (mean age: 76 years, 42% male, 41% Black), 52% had elevated brain amyloid burden. Mid-life leisure-time PA did not show a statistically significant lower odds of elevated late-life amyloid burden (OR = 0.71, 95% CI: 0.43–1.18). A 1 SD (970 MET. min. wk–1) higher PA level in mid-life was also not significantly associated withelevated amyloid burden (OR = 0.89, 95% CI: 0.69–1.15). Similar estimates were observed for meeting versus not meeting PA guidelines in both mid- and late-life. Conclusion:Self-reported higher mid- and late-life leisure-time PA were not significantly associated with lower amyloid burden. Data show a trend of an association, which is, however, imprecise, suggesting replication in larger studies.

Keywords: Amyloid, cohort study, epidemiology, imaging, PET, physical activity

DOI: 10.3233/JAD-200152

Journal: Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, vol. 76, no. 1, pp. 139-147, 2020