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. 2025 May;34(5):1443-1456.
doi: 10.1007/s11136-025-03910-5. Epub 2025 Feb 8.

Staying active, staying sharp: the relationship between physical activity and health-related quality of life for people living with cognitive impairment

Rezwanul Haque  1 , Khorshed Alam  2   3 , Jeff Gow  2   3   4 , Christine Neville  5 , Syed Afroz Keramat  6
Affiliations

Staying active, staying sharp: the relationship between physical activity and health-related quality of life for people living with cognitive impairment

Rezwanul Haque et al. Qual Life Res. 2025 May.

Abstract

Background: Physical inactivity is a major global health concern and has been identified as a risk factor for cognitive impairment. In Australia, the long-term relationship between physical activity and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in individuals with cognitive impairment remains under researched. This study aims to address this knowledge gap by using data from a population-based longitudinal study.

Methods: We used data from two waves (wave 12 [2012] and wave 16 [2016]) of the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey. Our final analytic sample consisted of 1,168 person-year observations from 985 unique individuals. To investigate the association between physical activity and HRQoL, we employed random-effects Generalized Least Squares (GLS) model.

Results: We found that participants engaging in physical activity, < 1 to 3 times per week, showed significant positive associations with the Physical Component Summary (PCS) score [β = 4.41, Standard Error (SE) = 0.68], Mental Component Summary (MCS) score (β = 2.55, SE = 0.74), and SF-6D utility value (β = 0.05, SE = 0.007) compared to those who did not perform any physical activity. Similarly, participants who engaged in physical activity more than three times per week to every day had notably higher scores in PCS (β = 7.28, SE = 0.82), MCS (β = 4.10, SE = 0.84), and SF-6D utility values (β = 0.07, SE = 0.009).

Conclusion: There is clear evidence that performing physical activity is positively associated with improved HRQoL in people with cognitive impairment. Our findings underscore the critical role of public health initiatives, such as health education and community-based programs, in promoting physical activity to enhance the HRQoL of older Australians living with cognitive impairment.

Keywords: Australia; Cognitive impairment; Health-related quality of life (HRQoL); Physical activity.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethical approval: This study used secondary data from de-identified existing unit records from the HILDA Survey, so ethical approval was not required. However, the authors completed and signed the Confidentiality Deed Poll and sent it to NCLD ( https://www.dss.gov.au/ ) and ADA (https://ada@anu.edu.au) before receiving approval for their data application. The datasets analysed and/or generated during the current study are subject to the signed confidentiality deed. Competing interests: The authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Participants’ flow in the analytic sample and missing data
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Mean PCS, MCS, and SF-6D utility values by the status of level of physical activities. Note: 1. Abbreviation: PCS = physical component summary, MCS = mental component summary, and SF-6D = Short-Form Six-Dimension health utility index
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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