ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychol.
Sec. Psychology of Aging
A comparative analysis of physical activity and cognitive performance in both institutionalized and non-institutionalized older adults, controlling sociodemographic variables
Provisionally accepted
Alba Villasán Rueda1
Marina Wobbeking Sánchez2*
Óscar Fernández Balbé3
Lizbeth De La Torre4Silvia Wobbeking Sánchez1- 1Universidad Internacional de La Rioja, Logroño, Spain
- 2Universidad de Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain
- 3Universidad Alfonso X el Sabio, Villanueva de la Cañada, Spain
- 4Universidad Pontificia de Salamanca Facultad de Psicologia, Salamanca, Spain
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This study examined the relationship between physical activity and cognitive performance in older adults living in nursing homes (i.e. those institutionalized for geriatric reasons), taking into account age and educational level as potential confounding factors. The sample consisted of 300 participants, 150 of whom were institutionalized in geriatric institutions and 150 of whom lived in community. Cognitive performance was assessed using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), while physical activity levels were measured using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ). Analysis revealed significant differences in cognitive performance between the two groups, with institutionalized participants achieving lower scores. Furthermore, an interaction effect between institutionalization and physical activity was identified, indicating that exercise is particularly beneficial for the cognitive health of institutionalized individuals. These results imply that physical activity is an especially important protective factor in institutional settings where opportunities for environmental cognitive stimulation may be limited.
Keywords: Cognition, Institutionalization, physical activity, Aging, MOCA
Received: 06 Oct 2025; Accepted: 27 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Villasán Rueda, Wobbeking Sánchez, Fernández Balbé, De La Torre and Wobbeking Sánchez. 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: Marina Wobbeking Sánchez, mwobbeking@usal.es
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