Home › Research › Prevention and risk
Physical exercise, aging, and mild cognitive impairment: a population-based study
Geda YE, Roberts RO, Knopman DS, Christianson TJ, Pankratz VS, Ivnik RJ, Boeve BF, Tangalos EG et al.. Archives of neurology, 2010-01-01
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Background Physical exercise is associated with decreased risk of dementia and Alzheimer disease. Objective To investigate whether physical exercise is associated with decreased risk of mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Design Population-based case-control study. Setting The Mayo Clinic Study of Aging, an ongoing population-based cohort study in Olmsted County, Minnesota. Participants A total of 1324 subjects without dementia who completed a Physical Exercise Questionnaire. Main outcome measures An expert consensus panel classified each subject as having normal cognition or MCI based on published criteria. Results We compared the frequency of physical exercise among 198 subjects with MCI with that among 1126 subjects with normal cognition and adjusted the analyses for age, sex, years of education, medical comorbidity, and depression. The odds ratios for any frequency of moderate exercise were 0.61 (95% confidence interval, 0.43-0.88; P = .008) for midlife (age range, 50-65 years) and 0.68 (95% confidence interval, 0.49-0.93; P = .02) for late life. The findings were consistent among men and women. Light exercise and vigorous exercise were not significantly associated with decreased risk of MCI. Conclusion In this population-based case-control study, any frequency of moderate exercise performed in midlife or late life was associated with a reduced odds of having MCI.
Key findings
- Background Physical exercise is associated with decreased risk of dementia and Alzheimer disease.
- Objective To investigate whether physical exercise is associated with decreased risk of mild cognitive impairment (MCI).
- Results We compared the frequency of physical exercise among 198 subjects with MCI with that among 1126 subjects with normal cognition and adjusted the analyses for age, sex, years of education, medical comorbidity, and depression.
- Light exercise and vigorous exercise were not significantly associated with decreased risk of MCI.
- Conclusion In this population-based case-control study, any frequency of moderate exercise performed in midlife or late life was associated with a reduced odds of having MCI.
Why it matters
In this population-based case-control study, any frequency of moderate exercise in midlife or late life was associated with reduced odds of having mild cognitive impairment. Light exercise and vigorous exercise were not significantly associated with decreased risk of mild cognitive impairment.
New to this subject? Start with our plain-English guide: Prevention →
Study details
- Study designcohort study
- Participants1,324
- Evidence strengthModerate
How this study scored 65/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a cohort study following people over time. Scored zero for effect reported and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Archives of neurology) |
| Journal's citation record | 3 / 4 | Archives of Neurology: journal h-index 353 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 7 / 12 | A cohort study following people over time |
| Strength of evidence | 3 / 5 | Rated “moderate” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2010 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 3 / 4 | 1,324 participants |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (participant count stated) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 6 / 7 | Cited 371 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 4 / 5 | 20.6 citations a year over 18 year(s) since 2010 |
| Impact for its field and year | 5 / 6 | Cited 23.4× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 3 / 6 | Cited by 19 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 2 / 4 | Cited 31 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 4 / 4 | Last-listed author Walter A. Rocca: h-index 118 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | Mayo Clinic: institution h-index 1,606 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 0 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 1 institution(s) in 1 country — scores zero (affiliation lists can be incomplete) |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 20065133) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 65 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
- DOI: 10.1001/archneurol.2009.297
- PubMed: 20065133
- Original source →
- Free full text: PubMed Central →
Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. The record's author list ends in “et al.”, so not every author is named. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Geda, Y. E., Roberts, R. O., Knopman, D. S., Christianson, T. J., Pankratz, V. S., Ivnik, R. J., et al. (2010). Physical exercise, aging, and mild cognitive impairment: a population-based study. Archives of neurology. https://doi.org/10.1001/archneurol.2009.297
Vancouver
Geda YE, Roberts RO, Knopman DS, Christianson TJ, Pankratz VS, Ivnik RJ, et al. Physical exercise, aging, and mild cognitive impairment: a population-based study. Archives of neurology. 2010. doi:10.1001/archneurol.2009.297. PMID: 20065133.
BibTeX
@article{geda2010-20065133,
author = {Geda, Y. E. and Roberts, R. O. and Knopman, D. S. and Christianson, T. J. and Pankratz, V. S. and Ivnik, R. J. and Boeve, B. F. and Tangalos, E. G. and others},
title = {{Physical exercise, aging, and mild cognitive impairment: a population-based study}},
journal = {Archives of neurology},
year = {2010},
doi = {10.1001/archneurol.2009.297},
pmid = {20065133},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1001/archneurol.2009.297}
}
Studies this one cites
Referenced by this study and also in the alzhub library, so you can read them here. Showing 12 of 20.
Later studies that cite this one
19 studies in the alzhub library list this one in their references. Showing the 8 highest-scoring.
Related studies in Prevention and risk
Also tagged “cognitive-function”
1,118 studies in the library carry the topic tag “cognitive-function”; these are this study's neighbours in a fixed, alphabetical-by-hash tour of them, not the closest in content. All 1,118 tagged studies.