PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND MEMORY FUNCTION AMONG OLDER ADULTS IN LEBANON: DIFFERENCES BY SEX AND RURAL-URBAN LIVING

Abstract

Background: The increase in the population 60 years and above has lead to increase in dementia. MENA region has one of the highest prevalence of dementia. One of the first symptoms of dementia and cognitive decline in general is impairment of the episodic memory. One of the factors revealing promising results on reducing the burden of dementia is physical activity, a concept not well studied in our part of the world being physically active. Objective: In this study we aimed to assess the association between objective and subjective physical activity, and memory function of older adults with no dementia in Lebanon. We also investigated the moderating effect of gender and place of residence on this association. Methods: This is a secondary data analysis of a cross sectional study conducted in 2013 on 502 community older adults 65 years of age and above selected randomly from two areas, Lebanon’s capital, Beirut, and Mount Lebanon. After excluding those who had dementia diagnosis and who did not have data on physical activity, the eligible sample for this study was 459 persons. Physical activity (physical activity perception, walking half a kilometer, and 2MST) were assessed at one point in time. Memory recall, defined as episodic memory, was measured using a 10-word list-learning test with two outcomes: immediate and delayed. Regression models were performed adjusting for cluster effect. Additionally, associations between main exposures and memory recall were stratified by sex and rural/urban living at the univariate and multivariate levels. Results: The findings of this study revealed that the three measures of physical activity were significantly associated with higher memory function, at significance level of 0.05. The data demonstrated that gender and place of residence did not modify the association between physical activity metrics and the outcome, immediate and delayed memory recall. Conclusion: Given the variation in the association of physical activity on memory recall between gender and geographic area, physical activity should be tailored to meet genders and area of residence interests. Further research is needed to determine the long-term impact on the relationship between episodic memory and physical activity.