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Effect of a 24-Month Physical Activity Intervention vs Health Education on Cognitive Outcomes in Sedentary Older Adults: The LIFE Randomized Trial
Sink KM, Espeland MA, Castro CM, Church T, Cohen R, Dodson JA, Guralnik J, Hendrie HC et al.. JAMA, 2015-08-01
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Importance Epidemiological evidence suggests that physical activity benefits cognition, but results from randomized trials are limited and mixed. Objective To determine whether a 24-month physical activity program results in better cognitive function, lower risk of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or dementia, or both, compared with a health education program. Results At 24 months, DSC task and HVLT-R scores (adjusted for clinic site, sex, and baseline values) were not different between groups. Participants in the physical activity group who were 80 years or older (n = 307) and those with poorer baseline physical performance (n = 328) had better changes in executive function composite scores compared with the health education group (P = .01 for interaction for both comparisons). Conclusions and relevance Among sedentary older adults, a 24-month moderate-intensity physical activity program compared with a health education program did not result in improvements in global or domain-specific cognitive function.
Key findings
- Importance Epidemiological evidence suggests that physical activity benefits cognition, but results from randomized trials are limited and mixed.
- Objective To determine whether a 24-month physical activity program results in better cognitive function, lower risk of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or dementia, or both, compared with a health education program.
- Results At 24 months, DSC task and HVLT-R scores (adjusted for clinic site, sex, and baseline values) were not different between groups.
- Participants in the physical activity group who were 80 years or older (n = 307) and those with poorer baseline physical performance (n = 328) had better changes in executive function composite scores compared with the health education group (P = .01 for interaction for both comparisons).
- Conclusions and relevance Among sedentary older adults, a 24-month moderate-intensity physical activity program compared with a health education program did not result in improvements in global or domain-specific cognitive function.
Why it matters
In this randomized trial, a 24-month moderate-intensity physical activity program did not improve global or domain-specific cognitive function compared with a health education program in sedentary older adults. Some subgroups aged 80 or older and those with poorer baseline physical performance showed better executive function changes, but the main result was no overall benefit.
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Study details
- Participants818
- Effect size90.3%; 13.2%; 12.1%
- Evidence strengthHigh
How this study scored 82/100
Published in a top-tier journal, and it is a randomised controlled trial.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 10 / 10 | Tier 1 — top-tier general journal (JAMA) |
| Journal's citation record | 4 / 4 | JAMA: journal h-index 1,011 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 11 / 12 | A randomised controlled trial (from PubMed type “Randomized Controlled Trial”) |
| Strength of evidence | 5 / 5 | Rated “high” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2015 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 2 / 4 | 818 participants |
| Effect reported | 2 / 3 | Effect reported as a number, without an interval or test |
| Studied in people | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (participant count stated) |
| Randomised / blinded | 1 / 2 | Randomised (as stated in the record) |
| Times cited | 6 / 7 | Cited 401 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 4 / 5 | 30.8 citations a year over 13 year(s) since 2015 |
| Impact for its field and year | 5 / 6 | Cited 27.8× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 3 / 6 | Cited by 18 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 3 / 4 | Cited 79 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 4 / 4 | Last-listed author Jeff D. Williamson: h-index 101 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 3 / 3 | Stanford University: institution h-index 2,684 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 3 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 14 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 26305648) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 82 / 100 | — |
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APA 7th
Sink, K. M., Espeland, M. A., Castro, C. M., Church, T., Cohen, R., Dodson, J. A., et al. (2015). Effect of a 24-Month Physical Activity Intervention vs Health Education on Cognitive Outcomes in Sedentary Older Adults: The LIFE Randomized Trial. JAMA. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2015.9617
Vancouver
Sink KM, Espeland MA, Castro CM, Church T, Cohen R, Dodson JA, et al. Effect of a 24-Month Physical Activity Intervention vs Health Education on Cognitive Outcomes in Sedentary Older Adults: The LIFE Randomized Trial. JAMA. 2015. doi:10.1001/jama.2015.9617. PMID: 26305648.
BibTeX
@article{sink2015-26305648,
author = {Sink, K. M. and Espeland, M. A. and Castro, C. M. and Church, T. and Cohen, R. and Dodson, J. A. and Guralnik, J. and Hendrie, H. C. and others},
title = {{Effect of a 24-Month Physical Activity Intervention vs Health Education on Cognitive Outcomes in Sedentary Older Adults: The LIFE Randomized Trial}},
journal = {JAMA},
year = {2015},
doi = {10.1001/jama.2015.9617},
pmid = {26305648},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2015.9617}
}
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