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. 2023 Jul 11:15:1184609.
doi: 10.3389/fnagi.2023.1184609. eCollection 2023.

Association between physical activity and episodic memory and the moderating effects of the apolipoprotein E ε4 allele and age

Boung Chul Lee  1   2 , Young Min Choe  1   3 , Guk-Hee Suh  1   3 , Ihn-Geun Choi  1   4 , Hyun Soo Kim  5 , Jaeuk Hwang  6 , Dahyun Yi  7 , Jee Wook Kim  1   2
Affiliations

Association between physical activity and episodic memory and the moderating effects of the apolipoprotein E ε4 allele and age

Boung Chul Lee et al. Front Aging Neurosci. .

Abstract

Background: An abundance of evidence indicates that physical activity may protect against Alzheimer's disease (AD) and related cognitive decline. However, little is known about the association between physical activity and AD-related cognitive decline according to age and the apolipoprotein E (APOE) ε4 allele (APOE4) as major risk factors. Therefore, we examined whether age and APOE4 status modulate the effects of physical activity on episodic memory as AD-related cognition in non-demented older adults.

Methods: We enrolled 196 adults aged between 65 and 90 years, with no dementia. All participants underwent comprehensive clinical assessments including physical activity evaluation and APOE genotyping. The AD-related cognitive domain was assessed by the episodic memory, as the earliest cognitive change in AD, and non-memory cognition for comparative purposes. Overall cognition was assessed by the total score (TS) of the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease neuropsychological battery.

Results: We found significant physical activity × age and physical activity × APOE4 interaction effects on episodic memory. Subgroup analyses indicated that an association between physical activity and increased episodic memory was apparent only in subjects aged > 70 years, and in APOE4-positive subjects.

Conclusion: Our findings suggest that physical activity has beneficial effects on episodic memory, as an AD-related cognitive domain, in individuals aged > 70 years and in APOE4-positive individuals. Physicians should take age and APOE4 status account into when recommending physical activity to prevent AD-related cognitive decline.

Keywords: APOE4; Alzheimer’s disease; age; memory; physical activity.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Associations between PASE and episodic memory. (A) PASE vs. episodic memory, (B) PASE categories vs. episodic memory, (C) PASE categories vs. episodic memory according APOE4 status, and (D) PASE categories vs. episodic memory according to age. PASE physical activity scale for the elderly, APOE4 apolipoprotein ε4. In panels (A–D), data are adjusted for all potential covariates. In panels (B–D), data are mean cognition values and error bars represent standard error.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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