Mastering the Relationship between the Body and the Brain? The Case of a Female Master Athlete

Abstract

Background: Physical inactivity significantly increases risk of cardiovascular diseases, which are highly prevalent in aging. Conversely, higher levels of physical activity in aging have been associated with benefits for physical and cognitive health and is hypothesized to prevent and reduce development of cardiovascular risk factors. However, those older adults with the highest activity levels (i.e., Master Athletes [MA]) are relatively understudied, and even fewer studies involve female MA.

Objective: The aim of this study was to compare the physiological, physical, and cognitive profiles of an 83-year-old track-and-field MA runner to a sample of inactive age-matched females.

Results: Results revealed the MA had a high peak oxygen uptake and had superior performance on visuospatial memory tasks compared to her inactive counterparts. Cerebral blood flow was slightly elevated in the MA, but lower cerebrovascular reactivity was revealed compared to the other female included in the magnetic resonance imaging portion.

Conclusion: Our results suggest that high levels of physical activity have benefits on multiple aspects of an aging female's life and that more studies should include MA, as well as a spectrum of cardiorespiratory fitness to further understand the role of physical activity in female aging.