A study has found that a wearable device that tracks movement can detect activity patterns during life and catch signs of cognitive decline early, a study has found.
Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in the U.S. analyzed data from the Fitbit and ActiGraph, which uses a motion tracking sensor similar to the Apple Watch, and analyzed data from people with normal cognitive abilities and people with normal cognitive abilities. They found significant differences in movement patterns between people with cognitive impairment or Alzheimer’s disease.
In this study, data from the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging (BLSA), which was conducted by the National Institute on Aging in the United States since 1958 on people living in the Baltimore area, were used. The researchers analyzed data from 585 participants for the period from July 2015 to December 2019 for whom sufficient activity tracking data and cognitive assessment data were available. Of these, 36 were diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment or Alzheimer’s disease.
After adjusting for differences by age, sex, and race, there was no significant difference in overall daily activity measures between those with mild cognitive impairment or Alzheimer’s disease and those with normal cognitive abilities. However, when looking at activity patterns at specific times of the day, several differences emerged.
People in the mild cognitive impairment or Alzheimer’s disease group had significantly lower activity measurements in the morning (6 am to noon) and especially in the afternoon (noon to 6 pm) compared to the group with normal cognitive ability. Most surprising was that the ‘fragmentation’ of activity, that is, activity that was dispersed into shorter timescales, was 3.4% higher in the afternoon hours.
“It was interesting to see these differences in the afternoon hours,” said study author Dr. Amal Wanitunga. As one of the main symptoms of Alzheimer’s dementia, there is a phenomenon called ‘sundowning’ in which symptoms such as worsening of impaired behavior and agitation or confusion in thinking when the sun goes down or at night are observed. It may be capturing some movement related to
“While there is a tendency to think of physical activity as a potential treatment for slowing cognitive decline, our study reminds us that cognitive impairment may eventually slow physical activity,” said Dr. Wanitunga. “We will be able to observe and detect these changes for faster and more efficient testing to delay and possibly prevent.”
Alzheimer’s disease, the most common form of dementia, is known to take decades to progress, and in general, interventions are expected to be more effective the earlier the disease process begins. If we can identify mild cognitive impairment and changes in activity that are predictive of Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia, it could lead to additional cognitive tests and possibly earlier treatment.
The researchers are planning additional long-term follow-up studies to see if small but measurable changes in daily activity patterns can help capture the early symptoms of mild cognitive impairment and subsequent Alzheimer’s dementia.
The title of this study, published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, is ‘Daily Physical Activity Patterns as a Window on Cognitive Diagnosis in the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging (BLSA)’.
Reporter Jeong Hee-eun eun@kormedi.com
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