NCT07081269

Physical Fitness and Hot Executive Function in Alzheimer's Risk

• Status: Recruiting
• Phase: —
• Study type: Observational
• Enrollment: 240 (estimated)
• Sponsor: National Taiwan Normal University · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 50 Years – 70 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

This 18-month study tracks how physical fitness relates to executive function in older adults, aiming to determine if fitness improvements predict better cognitive performance. Participants complete assessments at baseline and 18 months, including cardiorespiratory fitness (YMCA bike test), muscle strength (chest and leg press tests), and executive function (computer tasks with brain activity recording via EEG). Additional measures include physical activity questionnaires, cognitive screening (MMSE), memory tests (digit span), demographics (age, sex, education), and blood tests for APOE ε4 gene status. No exercise program will be provided, allowing observation of natural fitness-cognition relationships in daily life.

Detailed description

This prospective observational study examines associations between health-related physical fitness and behavioral/electrophysiological indices of cool and hot executive function in older adults over 18 months. The primary objective is to determine whether changes in physical fitness components predict concurrent changes in executive function domains. Assessment Protocol: Participants complete comprehensive evaluations at baseline and 18-month follow-up, including: (1) cardiorespiratory fitness via YMCA submaximal cycle ergometry; (2) muscular strength through one-repetition maximum testing (chest press, leg press); and (3) executive function using computerized task-switching paradigms with simultaneous electroencephalography. Secondary measures include demographics (age, sex, education), physical activity levels (International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Taiwan Short Form), global cognition (Mini-Mental State Examination), and working memory (digit span forward/backward). Additionally, Apolipoprotein E ε4 (APOE ε4) genotype will be examined as a potential moderator of fitness-cognition relationships.

Conditions

• Executive Function (Cognition)
• Event-Related Potentials
• Physical Fitness

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
OTHER	observation alone	No interventions will be conducted during the observation period, maintaining participants' normal daily living conditions.

Timeline

• Start date: 2025-01-10
• Primary completion: 2027-07-31
• Completion: 2027-07-31
• First posted: 2025-07-23
• Last updated: 2025-07-23

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Taiwan