Sedentary Habits Tied to Medial Temporal Lobe Thinning

Sedentary lifestyle may lead to memory decline and is inversely correlated with MTL thickness
brain scans
brain scans

TUESDAY, April 17, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- For non-demented middle-aged and older adults, there is an inverse correlation between medial temporal lobe (MTL) thickness and sedentary behavior, according to a study published online April 12 in PLOS ONE.

Prabha Siddarth, Ph.D., from the University of California, Los Angeles, and colleagues examined the correlations between sedentary behavior and MTL subregion integrity among 35 non-demented middle-aged and older adults, using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire for older adults. Participants underwent high resolution magnetic resonance imaging scans to enable detailed examination of the MTL.

The researchers found that after controlling for age, total MTL thickness correlated inversely with hours of sitting per day. In MTL subregional analysis, there were inverse correlations for parahippocampal (P = 0.007), entorhinal (P = 0.05), and cortical and subiculum (P = 0.04) thicknesses with hours of sitting per day. Physical activity levels were not significantly associated with MTL thickness.

"Though preliminary, our results suggest that more sedentary non-demented individuals have less MTL thickness," the authors write.

One author disclosed financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry; one author disclosed ties to a personalized medicine company.

Abstract/Full Text

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