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66/100

✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 66 out of 100. Genetics

Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies

Plain-language summary

Objective Studies examining the link between objective measures of total daily physical activity and incident Alzheimer disease (AD) are lacking. We tested the hypothesis that an objective measure of total daily physical activity predicts incident AD and cognitive decline. Methods Total daily exercise and nonexercise physical activity was measured continuously for up to 10 days with actigraphy (Actical®; Philips Healthcare, Bend, OR) from 716 older individuals without dementia participating in the Rush Memory and Aging Project, a prospective, observational cohort study. All participants underwent structured annual clinical examination including a battery of 19 cognitive tests. Results During an average follow-up of about 4 years, 71 subjects developed clinical AD. In a Cox proportional hazards model adjusting for age, sex, and education, total daily physical activity was associated with incident AD (hazard ratio = 0.477; 95% confidence interval 0.273-0.832). The association remained after adjusting for self-report physical, social, and cognitive activities, as well as current level of motor function, depressive symptoms, chronic health conditions, and APOE allele status. In a linear mixed-effect model, the level of total daily physical activity was associated with the rate of global cognitive decline (estimate 0.033, SE 0.012, p = 0.007). Conclusions A higher level of total daily physical activity is associated with a reduced risk of AD.

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APA 7th

Buchman, A. S., Boyle, P. A., Yu, L., Shah, R. C., Wilson, R. S., & Bennett, D. A. (2012). Total daily physical activity and the risk of AD and cognitive decline in older adults. Neurology. https://doi.org/10.1212/wnl.0b013e3182535d35

Vancouver

Buchman AS, Boyle PA, Yu L, Shah RC, Wilson RS, Bennett DA. Total daily physical activity and the risk of AD and cognitive decline in older adults. Neurology. 2012. doi:10.1212/wnl.0b013e3182535d35. PMID: 22517108.

BibTeX

@article{buchman2012-22517108,
  author  = {Buchman, A. S. and Boyle, P. A. and Yu, L. and Shah, R. C. and Wilson, R. S. and Bennett, D. A.},
  title   = {{Total daily physical activity and the risk of AD and cognitive decline in older adults}},
  journal = {Neurology},
  year    = {2012},
  doi     = {10.1212/wnl.0b013e3182535d35},
  pmid    = {22517108},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.1212/wnl.0b013e3182535d35}
}

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How to read this study

Design: this is a follow-up (cohort) study. People are observed over time and not assigned to anything, so an association can reflect other differences between groups. Look at how long follow-up lasted, how many dropped out, and whether the authors adjusted for age, education and other health conditions.
Size: the record lists 71 participants. Ask whether that is enough for the question, and who they were.
Effect: the record gives no effect size, so the summary above cannot say how large any difference was.

What the evidence grade means here

This page is graded moderate. alzhub.org assigns the grade automatically from keywords in the abstract, not from reading the paper. Moderate means the abstract mentions a cohort, case-control or longitudinal design. It can add at most 5 of the 100 points in the study score, and it is a label about design, not a verdict on whether the findings are true.

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Key findings

Results During an average follow-up of about 4 years, 71 subjects developed clinical AD.
In a Cox proportional hazards model adjusting for age, sex, and education, total daily physical activity was associated with incident AD (hazard ratio = 0.477; 95% confidence interval 0.273-0.832).
In a linear mixed-effect model, the level of total daily physical activity was associated with the rate of global cognitive decline (estimate 0.033, SE 0.012, p = 0.007).
Conclusions A higher level of total daily physical activity is associated with a reduced risk of AD.

Why it matters

Instead of relying on what people said about their habits, this study recorded "total daily exercise and nonexercise physical activity" with a movement-recording device for up to 10 days in 716 older adults without dementia, then followed them for about 4 years, during which 71 developed Alzheimer's disease. Higher total daily activity was associated with a lower risk of Alzheimer's (hazard ratio 0.477, 95% confidence interval 0.273–0.832) and with the rate of cognitive decline, and the link with Alzheimer's remained after adjusting for factors including motor function, depressive symptoms, chronic health conditions and APOE status. This was an observational study, so it shows an association and cannot prove that being more active prevents Alzheimer's.

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Study details

Study designcohort study
Participants71
Evidence strengthModerate

How this study scored 66/100

Published in a leading specialty journal, and it is a cohort study following people over time. Scored zero for effect reported and randomized / blinded because the record does not state it.

Component	Points	Why
Journal tier	9 / 10	Tier 2 — leading specialty journal (Neurology)
Journal's citation record	4 / 4	Neurology: journal h-index 525 (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	2012 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here
Sample size	1 / 4	71 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)
Randomized / blinded	0 / 2	No randomization or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0)
Times cited	6 / 7	Cited 726 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10)
Citations per year	4 / 5	45.4 citations a year over 16 year(s) since 2012
Impact for its field and year	5 / 6	Cited 38.0× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI)
Cited by studies here	4 / 6	Cited by 32 other studies in this library
Still being cited	3 / 4	Cited 140 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex)
Senior author's track record	4 / 4	Last-listed author David Alan Bennett: h-index 197 (OpenAlex, whole career)
Institution's track record	0 / 3	Rush University Medical Center: institution h-index 670 (OpenAlex)
Multicenter 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 22517108)
Free to read	0 / 2	Behind a paywall — scores zero
Total	66 / 100	—

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