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Sleep and physical activity trade-offs and dementia risk: a prospective cohort study in UK Biobank participants
Stephanie R Yiallourou, Lachlan Cribb, Beaudan Campbell‐Brown, Christian John Brakenridge, Andrée‐Ann Baril, Matthew Paul Pase. BMC Medicine, 2025-12-03
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
The mean age of the sample was 63 years (Q1, Q3, 56, 68); 56% were women. For short sleepers, increasing sleep duration was associated with a lowering of dementia risk when at the expense of inactivity or light activity, but not when at the expense of MVPA. For normal sleepers, the effect of increasing or decreasing sleep duration on dementia risk differed for all three substituted behaviors (i.e., inactivity, light, or MVPA). Most notably, increasing sleep at the expense of MVPA was associated with greater dementia risk, and increasing MVPA at the expense of sleep was associated with lower dementia risk. The interpretation of the results was broadly consistent when using MRI-based outcomes (e.g., hippocampal volume) in a subset with brain imaging (n = 15,180). Our findings from this observational analysis suggest that personalized approaches that balance trade-offs between sleep duration and differing physical activity levels based on individual circumstances, such as habitual sleep duration, may be important for dementia risk reduction.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
APA 7th
Yiallourou, S. R., Cribb, L., Campbell‐Brown, B., Brakenridge, C. J., Baril, A., & Pase, M. P. (2025). Sleep and physical activity trade-offs and dementia risk: a prospective cohort study in UK Biobank participants. BMC Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12916-025-04536-7
Vancouver
Yiallourou SR, Cribb L, Campbell‐Brown B, Brakenridge CJ, Baril A, Pase MP. Sleep and physical activity trade-offs and dementia risk: a prospective cohort study in UK Biobank participants. BMC Medicine. 2025. doi:10.1186/s12916-025-04536-7. PMID: 41331463.
BibTeX
@article{yiallourou2025-41331463,
author = {Yiallourou, Stephanie R and Cribb, Lachlan and Campbell‐Brown, Beaudan and Brakenridge, Christian John and Baril, Andrée‐Ann and Pase, Matthew Paul},
title = {{Sleep and physical activity trade-offs and dementia risk: a prospective cohort study in UK Biobank participants}},
journal = {BMC Medicine},
year = {2025},
doi = {10.1186/s12916-025-04536-7},
pmid = {41331463},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1186/s12916-025-04536-7}
}
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
Key findings
- The mean age of the sample was 63 years (Q1, Q3, 56, 68); 56% were women.
- For short sleepers, increasing sleep duration was associated with a lowering of dementia risk when at the expense of inactivity or light activity, but not when at the expense of MVPA.
- For normal sleepers, the effect of increasing or decreasing sleep duration on dementia risk differed for all three substituted behaviors (i.e., inactivity, light, or MVPA).
- Most notably, increasing sleep at the expense of MVPA was associated with greater dementia risk, and increasing MVPA at the expense of sleep was associated with lower dementia risk.
- The interpretation of the results was broadly consistent when using MRI-based outcomes (e.g., hippocampal volume) in a subset with brain imaging (n = 15,180).
Why it matters
In this UK Biobank cohort, for short sleepers, increasing sleep duration lowered dementia risk only when it replaced inactivity or light activity, not moderate-to-vigorous activity. For normal sleepers, replacing moderate-to-vigorous activity with sleep was linked to greater dementia risk, suggesting that balancing sleep and activity may matter for risk reduction.
Study details
- Participants15,180
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 46/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, effect reported and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (BMC Medicine) |
| Journal's citation record | 3 / 4 | BMC Medicine: journal h-index 259 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 4 / 5 | 2025 — within 3 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 4 / 4 | 15,180 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 | 1 / 7 | Cited 3 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 1 / 5 | 1.0 citations a year over 3 year(s) since 2025 |
| Impact for its field and year | 2 / 6 | Cited 1.9× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 0 / 6 | No other study in this library cites it |
| Still being cited | 1 / 4 | Cited 3 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 2 / 4 | Last-listed author Matthew Paul Pase: h-index 49 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | Monash University: institution h-index 1,146 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 2 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 6 institution(s) in 2 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 41331463) |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Total | 46 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
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Also tagged “biobank”
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