Cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between physical activity and intrinsic capacity in healthy older adults from the MAPT study

Abstract

• Higher levels of physical activity are associated with greater intrinsic capacity. • Intrinsic capacity declines faster in inactive versus active individuals. • Mobility, vitality, and the psychological domain mainly drive of the association. • Further research is needed regarding cognition and the sensory domain. The construct of intrinsic capacity (IC) has been recently developed with the aim of assessing and monitoring life-long individuals’ functional trajectories. Physical activity (PA) is recognized for its benefits on health but its associations with IC remain less investigated. We explored the cross-sectional and longitudinal associations of PA with IC in non-demented older adults. Eight hundred and thirty-seven males and females aged 70 years and over, were included in the present work. IC and its domains (mobility, vitality, cognition, psychology and sensory) were assessed over 2 years and converted to a 0-100 scale. Participants were categorized into 5 PA groups (0-29; 30-499; 500-999; 1000-1999; and 2000+ MET-min/week) using questionnaires. The associations between PA and IC variables (all reflected and square-root-transformed) observed over 2 years were examined using mixed-effect linear regressions. Over the 2-year follow-up, ordinal PA was associated with higher scores in IC (B = -.066, SE = .015, p < .001) In addition, compared to the inactive group, most of the active groups had a slower decline in IC (B 30-499 MET-min/week = -.196, SE = .078; B 500-999 MET-min/week = -.208, SE = .076; B 1000-1999 MET-min/week = -.165, SE = .073; B 2000+ MET-min/week = -.187, SE = .074; all p < .05). Subdomain analyses revealed that these associations were driven by mobility, vitality and psychological domain. This study suggests that PA may help preventing IC decline, especially mobility, vitality, and psychology in older adults.

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