Physical fitness and cognitive function: a cross-sectional study among adults in Qatar

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to investigate the association between physical fitness and markers of cognitive function in adults aged 40 and above in Qatar. DESIGN: A cross-sectional study. SETTING: The Qatar Biobank, data of 1000 adults aged 40 and above. PARTICIPANTS: A population of 1000 adults aged 40 years and older was included. Available data comprised measures of physical fitness including cardiorespiratory fitness, muscular strength, body composition and physical fitness capacity, as well as cognitive function assessed through tests of short-term visual memory and psychomotor coordination. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOMES: This paper investigated the physical fitness effect on cognitive functioning through short-term visual memory and psychomotor coordination testing. Logistic regression was used to measure the association between physical fitness and cognitive functioning tests. RESULTS: Our study showed that lower physical fitness capacity was significantly associated with lower psychomotor coordination in females (OR=1.57, p=0.040) and showed no significant association in males (OR=1.65, p=0.062). For short-term visual memory, the association was significant in females (OR=1.68, p=0.042) unlike in males (OR=1.58, p=0.062). Males with greater muscle strength were about half as likely to have lower psychomotor coordination (OR=0.48, p=0.04). In females, a higher body fat percentage was associated with poorer cognitive function, with each 1% increase in body fat being linked to 6% higher odds of low short-term visual memory (p=0.02) and low psychomotor coordination (p=0.006). Cardiorespiratory fitness showed no statistically significant association with short-term visual memory and psychomotor coordination level in either sex. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that overall physical fitness capacity is associated with better cognitive function in Qatari adults. The relationship between specific fitness measures and cognitive function varied by sex, with muscle strength having a stronger effect for males and body composition for females. These results highlight the potential importance of maintaining physical fitness for cognitive health in adulthood.