Data from: Effect of aerobic exercise on cognition in younger adults: a randomized clinical trial

Objective: To determine efficacy of aerobic exercise for cognitive
function in younger healthy adults. Methods: In a randomized,
parallel-group, observer-masked, community-based clinical trial, 132
cognitively normal individuals aged 20-67 with below median aerobic
capacity were randomly assigned to one of two 6-month, four-times-weekly
conditions: aerobic exercise and stretching/toning. Efficacy measures
included: aerobic capacity; cognitive function in six domains (executive
function, episodic memory, processing speed, language, and attention),
everyday function, BMI and cortical thickness. Results: Aerobic capacity
increased significantly (β=2.718; p=0.003), and BMI decreased
significantly (β=-0.596; p=0.013) in the aerobic exercise but not in the
stretching/toning condition. Executive function improved significantly in
the aerobic exercise condition; this effect was moderated by age (β=0.018
s.d. per year; p=0.028). At age 40 the executive function measure
increased by 0.228 s.d. (95% CI: 0.007 - 0.448), and by 0.596 s.d. (95%
CI: 0.219 - 0.973) at age 60. Cortical thickness increased significantly
in the aerobic exercise group in a left frontal region and did not
interact with age. Controlling for age and baseline performance,
individuals with at least one APOE ε4 allele showed less improvement in
executive function with aerobic exercise (β=0.5129, 95%CI 0.0381 to 0.988;
p=0.0346). Conclusions: This randomized clinical trial demonstrates the
efficacy of aerobic exercise for cognition in adults age 20 – 67. The
effect of aerobic exercise on executive function was more pronounced as
age increased, suggesting that it may mitigate age-related declines.
Increased cortical thickness suggests that aerobic exercise contributes to
brain health in individuals as young as age 20. Clinicaltrials.gov
Identifier: NCT01179958 Classification of evidence: This study provides
Class II evidence that for adults age 20-67 with below median aerobic
capacity, aerobic exercise significantly improves executive function but
not other measures of cognitive function.