EDITORIAL article

Front. Physiol.

Sec. Exercise Physiology

Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fphys.2025.1645677

This article is part of the Research TopicCognitive Impairment and Physical Function in Older AdultsView all 39 articles

Editorial: Cognitive Impairment and Physical Function in Older Adults

Provisionally accepted
José Daniel Jiménez GarcíaJosé Daniel Jiménez García1Daniel Velázquez DíazDaniel Velázquez Díaz2Antonio Martinez- AmatAntonio Martinez- Amat1Francisco Álvarez SalvagoFrancisco Álvarez Salvago3Richard B. KreiderRichard B. Kreider4Diego A. BonillaDiego A. Bonilla5*
  • 1Department of Health Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Jaén, Jaén, Spain
  • 2Translational Research Institute, AdventHealth, Orlando, United States
  • 3Universidad Europea de Valencia SLU, Valencia, Spain
  • 4Exercise & Sport Nutrition Laboratory, Human Clinical Research Facility, Texas A&M University, College Station, United States
  • 5Dynamical Business & Science Society - DBSS International SAS, Bogotá, Colombia

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Regular physical exercise demonstrates robust benefits for physical and cognitive health in aging populations (1,2). A longitudinal study of 10,691 Chinese older adults by Xu et al. (2024) revealed that sustained physical activity significantly improved instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs) and reduced depressive symptoms over eight years, even after adjusting for sociodemographic confounders. However, its association with cognitive function was less definitive, suggesting domainspecific effects. Huang et al. (2024) also found both direct and indirect associations between IADL function and cognitive status. These findings align with research on modifiable health metrics by Wang et al. (2024), where physical activity emerged as a critical factor in reducing all-cause mortality among cognitively impaired older adults, potentially averting 26.6% of deaths through ideal engagement.

Keywords: Exercise programs, Elderly, Cognition, cognitive impairment, physical exercise, Aging, SDG3: Good health and wellbeing

Received: 12 Jun 2025; Accepted: 18 Jun 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Jiménez García, Velázquez Díaz, Martinez- Amat, Álvarez Salvago, Kreider and Bonilla. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Diego A. Bonilla, Dynamical Business & Science Society - DBSS International SAS, Bogotá, Colombia

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Supplementary Material