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A dynamic microeconomic analysis of the impact of physical activity on cognition among older people

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  • Lenzen, Sabrina
  • Gannon, Brenda
  • Rose, Christiern

Abstract

This microeconomic study explores the dynamic relationship between physical activity and cognition, using longitudinal data from 6 waves of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) between 2004 and 2017. Physical activity has drawn significant attention as a potentially successful action for protecting brain health and cognition in the aging population, but the empirical evidence in observational studies is inconclusive to date. We add to the literature by estimating the effect of physical activity on cognition, tackling many sources of bias, which have previously not been addressed consistently. The challenge in estimating the effect of physical activity on cognition is the dynamics of cognition and the endogeneity of physical activity caused by unobserved heterogeneity, reverse causality and measurement error. To address this endogeneity and at the same time control for lagged cognition, we propose a system – generalized method of moments (GMM) estimator, using lagged levels and differences of the endogenous explanatory variables as instruments, while transforming out the fixed effects. We find that being moderately & vigorously physically active at least once a week increases memory status by 0.282 and 0.552 standard deviations for men and women respectively. We find different effects for varying physical activity intensity.

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  • Lenzen, Sabrina & Gannon, Brenda & Rose, Christiern, 2020. "A dynamic microeconomic analysis of the impact of physical activity on cognition among older people," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 39(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ehbiol:v:39:y:2020:i:c:s1570677x20302033
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ehb.2020.100933
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    Cited by:

    1. Sukai Wang & Hong-Yu Liu & Yi-Chen Cheng & Chun-Hsien Su, 2021. "Exercise Dosage in Reducing the Risk of Dementia Development: Mode, Duration, and Intensity—A Narrative Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(24), pages 1-21, December.
    2. Lenzen, Sabrina & Gannon, Brenda & Rose, Christiern & Norton, Edward C., 2023. "The relationship between physical activity, cognitive function and health care use: A mediation analysis," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 335(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Physical activity; Cognition; Memory; Blundell–Bond; System-GMM;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C10 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods and Methodology: General - - - General
    • C26 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Instrumental Variables (IV) Estimation
    • I10 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - General
    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior
    • J14 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of the Elderly; Economics of the Handicapped; Non-Labor Market Discrimination

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