Cardiorespiratory Fitness as a Predictor of Successful Cognitive Ageing

This study examined whether cardiorespiratory fitness influences cognitive ageing and whether this influence is domain specific. A cross-sectional design comprising 25 young (18–30 years), 25 young-old (65–74 years), 25 middle-old (75–84 years) and 25 old-old adults (85–92 years) compared the relationship between cardiorespiratory fitness (VO2max) and measures of processing resources (attention, working memory, speed) and higher-order cognitive functions (executive function, memory). Fitness was a strong predictor of cognition and accounted for more variance in processing resources than in higher-order functions. This suggests that cardiorespiratory fitness may have a selective protective effect against age-associated cognitive decline. We gratefully acknowledge the participation of all of the men and women who volunteered for this study. This research was funded by a RM Gibson Scientific Research Fund grant from the Australian Association of Gerontology.

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