P2-589: association of different types of physical activity with performance on cognitive tasks in a predominantly african american sample

African Americans (AA) have the highest incidence and prevalence of dementia, compared to five other racial groups. In AAs, amnestic mild cognitive impairment is associated with multiple factors including cardiovascular disease. Lower levels of recommended physical activity significantly increase the prevalence of chronic diseases such as diabetes and hypertension in this population. Given the absence of a known cure for dementia, presently, aerobic exercise programs tested in mild cognitive impairment is showing promise in the prevention and/or delay of Dementia. Despite the increased risk of Dementia in AAs, there is paucity of data in this population. Therefore, the purpose of this secondary data analysis is to test the association between global cognition and self-reported physical activity in older African Americans. The baseline, cross sectional data of AAs (n=2,844) with data on physical activity, enrolled in the Howard University Memory and Cognitive Aging program were considered for data-analysis. Participants’ undergone examination of their health status, cognition, neuropsychiatric symptoms, and the physical activity. We analyzed the relationship between global cognition (Mini Mental Status Examination (MMSE)) and self-reported walking, jogging and aerobic exercise on Modified National Health Interview Survey, Exercise- Physical Activity Questionnaire. Metabolic equivalents (METS) were calculated for walking, jogging/running, and aerobic exercise. Participants were predominantly females (99%) and averaged 67 years in age. A linear regression analysis, using MMSE scores as dependent variable and tested whether walking, jogging/running or doing aerobic exercise associated with memory. Unadjusted results showed significant difference only in the aerobic group, but not significant after adjusted for age, sex, and gender. When we modeled walking, jogging/running or doing aerobic exercise METS as predictor variables, aerobic exercise was significantly associated with MMSE in the initial unadjusted regression analyzes. This relationship remained significant after discounting the effects of age, sex, and gender. Although self-reported aerobic exercise is associated with better performance on the MMSE test, less than 1% of our AA sample reported performing aerobic exercise, while 30% self-reported walking. We conclude that physical activity is beneficial to performance on cognitive tasks. Larger prospective study is needed to validate our findings in AAs.