Cognitive resources moderate the adverse impact of poor perceived neighborhood conditions on self-reported physical activity of older adults

Publication date: Available online 30 May 2019Source: Preventive MedicineAuthor(s): Boris Cheval, Amanda L. Rebar, Matthew W. Miller, Stefan Sieber, Dan Orsholits, Gergő Baranyi, Delphine Courvoisier, Stéphane Cullati, David Sander, Aïna Chalabaev, Matthieu P. BoisgontierAbstractPoor neighborhood conditions are associated with lower levels of physical activity for older adults but socio-ecological models posit that physical activity depends on both environmental and individual factors. Older adults' ability to overcome environmental barriers to physical activity may partially rely on cognitive resources. However, evidence on the moderating role of these cognitive resources in the associations between environmental barriers and physical activity is still lacking. We analyzed cross-national and longitudinal data on 28,876 adults aged 50 to 96 years as part of the SHARE. Lack of access to services and neighborhood nuisances were used as indicators of poor neighborhood conditions. Delayed recall and verbal fluency were used as indicators of cognitive resources. Confounder-adjusted generalized estimation equations were conducted to test associations between neighborhood conditions and self-reported moderate physical activity, as well as the moderating role of cognitive resources. Results showed that poor neighborhood conditions reduced the odds of engagement in physical activity. Cognitive resources robustly reduced the adverse influence of poor neighborhood conditions on phy...
Source: Preventive Medicine - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: research