Chunk #43 — FINDINGS — Relation of Risk Factors to Cognitive and Motor Outcomes, Disability and Death — Cognitive, Physical Activities, Social Engagement, Loneliness and Life Space
Participation in cognitively stimulating activities across the life course was associated with level of cognition [56,107,108]. Both past and current cognitive activities were associated with a reduced risk of AD and with a slower rate of cognitive decline, especially episodic memory, semantic memory, and perceptual speed, in analyses that controlled for baseline level of cognition [31]. Further, current activities were associated with AD risk after controlling for past activities. The effect of late life cognitive activities appears to be stronger than the effect of education on building cognitive reserve [109]. Current activities were also associated with incident MCI. We used dual change models to document that change in cognitive activities precede changes in cognition [110]. Finally, cognitive activities were not related to measures of neuropathology suggesting that lower cognitive activities were not likely a consequence of the accumulation of pathology.
