Previous findings have contributed an overwhelming amount of evidence explaining the need for exercise and physical activity participation among seniors, especially women. Specifically, research suggests that without the physical ability to perform routine activities of daily living, cognitive decline may ensue, resulting in a loss of autonomy. To understand the use of functional field measures as a practical assessment of cognition, executive function (task performance) may be dependent upon functional fitness. The purpose of this study was to determine if functional fitness predicts executive functioning in older women. The researchers hypothesized that functional fitness would significantly predict executive function, thus contributing to the cognitive components of functionality.
Method
Thirty-one women with a mean age of 81.6 ± 4.4 years completed the Cognitive Linguistic Quick Test executive function subscale, hand grip strength, and the Senior Fitness Test. Functional fitness parameters entered into the analysis included the 8-foot up-and-go, a part of the Senior Fitness Test, and the left and right hand combined maximal hand grip isometric strength.
Analysis/Results
Preliminary significant relationships were observed between executive function and age (r = -.576, p = .00), in addition to 8-foot up-and-go (r = -.460, p = .01) and hand grip strength (r = .398, p = .03). Subsequently, a multiple regression analysis was used to assess potential predictors of executive function. When combined, age and functional measures predicted 40.3% (p = .003) of the variance in executive function. Age emerged as the only significant predictor (b = -.449, p = .015), uniquely contributing to 15.2% of the variance in executive function above the functional fitness variables. Although it was not a significant predictor, the 8-foot up-and-go (b = -.256, p = .167) contributed to 4% of the variance in executive function, while hand grip added nothing to the model.
Conclusions
These findings indicate that age remains the best predictor of executive function, further justifying the need for exercise and physical activity among seniors. Functional fitness as a predictor of executive function is worthy of continued research due to the exploratory nature of this study. In addition, the overlapping of variability between functional measures and age is important to note. Future research is again warranted to ameliorate this limitation and to increase the generalizability of results to older males.
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