Effect of lifestyle activities on Alzheimer disease biomarkers and cognition.

Objective: A study was undertaken to investigate the association of intellectual and physical activity with biomarkers of Alzheimer disease (AD) pathophysiology and cognition in a nondemented elderly population. The biomarkers evaluated were brain Aβ load via Pittsburgh compound B (PiB)-positron emission tomography (PET), neuronal dysfunction via (18) F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG)-PET, and neurodegeneration via structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Methods: We studied 515 nondemented (428 cognitively normal and 87 mild cognitive impairment) participants in the population-based Mayo Clinic Study of Aging who completed a 3T MRI, PET scans, and APOE genotype, and had lifestyle activity measures and cognition data available.