Associations of 24-Hour Light Exposure and Activity Patterns and Risk of Cognitive Impairment and Decline in Older Men: The MrOS Sleep Study

Terri L Blackwell; Mariana G Figueiro; Gregory J Tranah; Jamie M Zeitzer; Kristine Yaffe; Sonia Ancoli-Israel; Deborah M Kado; Kristine E Ensrud; Nancy E Lane; Yue Leng; Katie L Stone; Osteoporotic Fractures in Men (MrOS) Study Group

doi:10.1093/gerona/glac187

Associations of 24-Hour Light Exposure and Activity Patterns and Risk of Cognitive Impairment and Decline in Older Men: The MrOS Sleep Study

J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2023 Oct 9;78(10):1834-1843. doi: 10.1093/gerona/glac187.

Authors

Terri L Blackwell¹, Mariana G Figueiro², Gregory J Tranah¹, Jamie M Zeitzer^{3

4}, Kristine Yaffe^{5

6}, Sonia Ancoli-Israel⁷, Deborah M Kado^{8

9}, Kristine E Ensrud^{10

11}, Nancy E Lane^{12

13}, Yue Leng¹⁴, Katie L Stone^{1

15}; Osteoporotic Fractures in Men (MrOS) Study Group

Affiliations

¹ Research Institute, California Pacific Medical Center, San Francisco, California,USA.
² Department of Population Health Science and Policy, Light and Health Research Center, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA.
³ Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Center for Sleep and Circadian Sciences, Stanford University, Palo Alto, California, USA.
⁴ Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center, VA Palo Alto Health Care System, Palo Alto, California, USA.
⁵ Departments of Psychiatry, Neurology, and Epidemiology, University of California, San Francisco, California,USA.
⁶ the San Francisco VA Medical Center.
⁷ Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA.
⁸ Department of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, California and VA Palo Alto, Palo Alto, California, USA.
⁹ Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center (GRECC), VA Palo Alto, Palo Alto, California, USA.
¹⁰ Center for Chronic Disease Outcomes Research, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.
¹¹ Division of Epidemiology and Community Health, Department of Medicine, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.
¹² Department of Medicine, Center for Musculoskeletal Health, University of California at Davis School of Medicine, Sacramento, California, USA.
¹³ Department of Epidemiology, University of California at San Francisco, San Francisco, California,USA.
¹⁴ Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco, California,USA.
¹⁵ Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California, San Francisco, California,USA.

Abstract

Background: Older men with the worse alignment of activity and light may have lower levels of cognition and increased rates of cognitive decline.

Methods: This cohort consisted of 1 036 older men (81.1 ± 4.6 years) from the MrOS Sleep Study (2009-2012). Light and activity levels were gathered by wrist actigraphy. Phasor analysis was used to quantify the alignment of light-dark and rest-activity patterns (magnitude) and their temporal relationship (angle). Global cognitive function (Modified Mini-Mental State examination [3MS]) and executive function (Trails B test) were measured, then repeated 4.2 ± 0.8 years later. Linear regression models examined the associations of phasor magnitude and angle with cognition and cognitive decline. Models were adjusted for age, clinic, race, education, and season.

Results: Smaller phasor magnitude (worse aligned light and activity patterns) was associated with lower initial level and increased decline in executive function. Compared to those with higher phasor magnitude, those with lower magnitude took an average of 11.1 seconds longer to complete the Trails B test (quartile 1 vs quartile 4, p = .02). After follow-up, Trails B completion time increased an average of 5.5 seconds per standard deviation decrease in phasor magnitude (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.7-10.4, p = .03). There were no associations with phasor angle, and none with magnitude and global cognition (3MS).

Conclusion: Among older men, worse alignment of light and activity patterns was associated with worse initial performance and increased decline in executive function, but not related to global cognition. Interventions that improve the alignment of light and activity may slow cognitive decline in older adults.

Keywords: Circadian rhythms; Cognitive function; Light exposure; Phasor analysis.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

Aged
Cognition
Cognition Disorders*
Cognitive Dysfunction* / etiology
Humans
Male
Polysomnography
Sleep

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Grants and funding