Physical Fitness and Hot Executive Function in Alzheimer's Risk

NCT07081269 | Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: PACNL_HPF_HEF
• Study Type: observational
• Target: 240
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief 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.

Conditions

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

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (5)

• Changes in cardiorespiratory fitness

  Cardiorespiratory fitness will be estimated using the YMCA submaximal cycle ergometer test at baseline (Baseline Assessment) and at the 18-month follow-up (Post Assessment). Changes in cardiorespiratory fitness between the Baseline and Post Assessments will be evaluated.

  Approximately 25 minutes each at the baseline assessment and the 18-month follow-up post-assessment.

• Changes in muscular fitness

  Muscular fitness will be assessed via a standardized 8-10 repetition maximum protocol on chest-press and leg-press machines at baseline (Baseline Assessment) and at the 18-month follow-up (Post Assessment). Changes in muscular fitness between the Baseline and Post Assessments will be evaluated.

  Approximately 25 minutes each at the baseline assessment and the 18-month follow-up post-assessment

• Change in cognitive flexibility-response time

  Cognitive flexibility will be assessed via a task-switching test at baseline (Baseline Assessment) and at the 18-month follow-up (Post Assessment). Changes in response times on the task-switching test between Baseline and Post Assessments will be analyzed.

  Approximately 30 minutes each at the baseline assessment and the 18-month follow-up post-assessment

• Change in cognitive flexibility-adcuracy

  Cognitive flexibility will be assessed via a task-switching test at baseline (Baseline Assessment) and at the 18-month follow-up (Post Assessment). Changes in accuracy on the task-switching test between Baseline and Post Assessments will be analyzed.

  Approximately 30 minutes each at the baseline assessment and the 18-month follow-up post-assessment

• Change in EEG activity

  Concurrent EEG data recorded during task switching at baseline (Baseline Assessment) and at the 18-month follow-up (Post Assessment) will be processed and analyzed. Differences in EEG activity between Baseline and Post Assessments will be examined.

  Approximately 30 minutes each at the baseline assessment and the 18-month follow-up post-assessment

Secondary Outcomes (4)

• Cognitive function (Mini-Mental State Examination, MMSE)

  Approximately 15 minutes each at the baseline assessment and the 18-month follow-up post-assessment

• Working memory (Digit Span Tests)

  Approximately 15 minutes each at the baseline assessment and the 18-month follow-up post-assessment

• ApoE genotype

  5 minutes at the Baseline Assessment

• Physical activity (Taiwan version of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire, IPAQ)

  Approximately 15 minutes each at the baseline assessment and the 18-month follow-up post-assessment

Study Arms (1)

Older adults

Older adults, 50-70 years old.

Other: observation alone

Interventions

observation alone OTHER

No interventions will be conducted during the observation period, maintaining participants' normal daily living conditions.

Also known as: 1.5 year observation

Older adults

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 50 Years - 70 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)
• Sampling Method: Probability Sample

Study Population

The study population is older adults aged 50-70.

You may qualify if:

• Age 50-70.
• Able to engage in fitness testing.
• Normal vision or corrected-to-normal vision.

You may not qualify if:

• Suffering from cardiopulmonary-related diseases.
• Suffering from cognitive, neurological or psychiatric disorders (e.g., dementia, Parkinson's disease, epilepsy, depression, schizophrenia, etc.).
• Suffering from infectious diseases (e.g., hepatitis, human immunodeficiency virus or Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease).
• Having a history of drug or alcohol abuse.
• Having colour vision deficiency (e.g., colour blindness).
• Having a family history of aneurysm.
• Taking medications that affect brain function.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• National Taiwan Normal University: lead

Study Sites (1)

National Taiwan Normal University

Taipei, Taiwan

RECRUITING

MeSH Terms

Interventions

Observation

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Methods; Investigative Techniques

Study Officials

• Yu-Kai Chang, PhD

  National Taiwan Normal University

  STUDY DIRECTOR

• Chine-Heng Chu, PhD

  National Taiwan Normal University

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Chine-Heng Chu, PhD

CONTACT

+886277493224; cchu042@yahoo.com

Study Design

• Study Type: observational
• Observational Model: COHORT
• Time Perspective: PROSPECTIVE
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Principal Investigator

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: May 18, 2025
• First Posted: July 23, 2025
• Study Start: January 10, 2025
• Primary Completion (Estimated): July 31, 2027
• Study Completion (Estimated): July 31, 2027
• Last Updated: July 23, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-07

Locations

TW (1)