Acta Gymnica 2015, 45(4):159-165 | DOI: 10.5507/ag.2015.019

The relationship between cognitive and physical function among residents of a Czech senior home

Annelies Matthé1, Donald N. Roberson Jr.2, Yael Netz3
1 Special Olympics Belgium, Brussels, Belgium
2 Faculty of Physical Culture, Palacký University Olomouc, Olomouc, Czech Republic;
3 Wingate College, Wingate Institute, Netanya, Israel

Background: The decline in cognition and physical fitness is common in advanced age.

Objective: The relationship between cognition and aerobic capacity was compared to the relationship between cognition and balance.

Methods:  Twenty one females and six male residents of a Czech senior center participated in the study (mean age: 77.5 ± 7.0; range: 62-86 years). The Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) was used for assessing cognition, the Berg Balance Scale (BBS) for assessing balance, and the 6-Minute Walk Test (6MWT) assessed physical fitness. Based on the MMSE scores, two groups of cognitive functioning were formed - high and low.

Results: Participants in the "high MMSE" group reached a significantly higher score on the 6MWT (p = .01) than the "low MMSE" group. Group differences on the BBS were marginally significant (p = .07, d = 0.6).

Conclusions: Based on this sample, the level of physical fitness can be explained by cognitive functioning, while that of balance should be further studied in its relationship to cognitive functioning.

Keywords: aerobic fitness, balance, mental functioning, senior home

Received: March 25, 2015; Accepted: June 22, 2015; Prepublished online: August 28, 2015; Published: December 31, 2015  Show citation

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Matthé, A., Roberson, D.N., & Netz, Y. (2015). The relationship between cognitive and physical function among residents of a Czech senior home. Acta Gymnica, 45(4), 159-165. doi: 10.5507/ag.2015.019
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