Associations of physical activity and sedentary time from childhood to adolescence with cognition in adolescence: The PANIC study

AbstractO_ST_ABSPurposeC_ST_ABSInvestigate the associations of cumulative exposure to physical activity (PA), sedentary time and screen time from childhood to adolescence over an 8-year follow-up with cognition in adolescence. MethodsAltogether, 260 adolescents (136 boys) who were 15-17 years at 8-year follow-up were analysed. PA and sedentary time were assessed using an Actiheart(R)-device, and different types of PA, non-screen-based sedentary time and screen time were assessed by a questionnaire at baseline, 2-year and 8-year examinations. Cognition was assessed using CogState tests at 8-year examinations. ResultsSelf-reported cumulative unsupervised PA from childhood to adolescence was inversely associated with accuracy in working memory task (standardized regression coefficient ({beta})=-0.127, 95% confidence interval (CI) -0.247 to -0.008) in adolescence. Self-reported non-screen-based sedentary time was inversely associated with reaction time ({beta}=-0.176, 95% CI -0.299 to -0.053) and accuracy ({beta}=-0.149, 95% CI -0.274 to -0.024) in working memory tasks. Self-reported screen time was inversely associated with reaction time ({beta}=-0.194, 95% CI -0.316 to -0.071) and ({beta}=-0.233, 95% CI -0.355 to -0.112) in both working memory tasks and directly associated with overall cognition ({beta}=0.187, 95% CI 0.070-0.305). ConclusionAccumulating less unsupervised PA and more screen time from childhood to adolescence was associated with better cognition in adolescence.