ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Public Health

Sec. Aging and Public Health

Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1509528

This article is part of the Research TopicIntegrated Strategies for Lifelong Health: Multidimensional Approaches to Aging and Lifestyle InterventionsView all 23 articles

Effects of Agricultural or Gardening Physical Activity on Cardiovascular Disease and Dementia-Related Markers via Arterial Stiffness, Cognitive Function, and Cerebral White Matter Status: Results from Cross-sectional and Interventional Studies

Provisionally accepted
Masato NishiwakiMasato Nishiwaki1*Seiya TakadaSeiya Takada2Shotaro OtsukaShotaro Otsuka3Hyuma MakizakoHyuma Makizako2Harutoshi SakakimaHarutoshi Sakakima2Naoto ShiomiNaoto Shiomi4Satomi OobaSatomi Ooba5Naoyuki MatsumotoNaoyuki Matsumoto6Kiyoshi KikuchiKiyoshi Kikuchi7*
  • 1Osaka Institute of Technology, Osaka, Japan
  • 2Kagoshima University, Kagoshima, Kagoshima, Japan
  • 3Oita University, Oita, Oita, Japan
  • 4Shiga University of Medical Science, Otsu, Shiga, Japan
  • 5Ooba Clinic for Neurosurgery and Headache, Oita, Japan
  • 6Prefectural University of Kumamoto, Kumamoto, Kumamoto, Japan
  • 7School of Medicine, Kurume University, Kurume, Fukuoka, Japan

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Background: Agricultural or gardening physical activity (AGPA) offers potential as a simple strategy to improve cardiovascular disease and dementia-related markers; however, the actual preventive effects remain unclear. Our objective was to investigate AGPA regarding related markers of cardiovascular disease and dementia using cross-sectional and interventional approaches. Methods and Results: In Study 1, community-based older individuals were assessed, and 30 individuals who performed AGPA (AG group) and 30 1:1 age-, sex-, and objective activity-matched controls were cross-sectionally compared (mean age, 75 ± 6 y). Arterial stiffness (pulse wave velocity) was lower and hand-finger dexterity (pegboard test) was higher in the AG vs. control groups. The interventional results of Study 2 (secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial) confirmed that consistent AGPA might regress white matter hyperintensities in older individuals. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that consistent AGPA perse may improve cardiovascular disease and dementia-related markers of in older healthy individuals via arterial stiffness, cognitive function, and cerebral white matter status. This information could have major implications for integrated strategies for lifelong health.

Keywords: Agriculture, Cardiovascular Diseases, Cognition, Vascular Stiffness, white matter

Received: 11 Oct 2024; Accepted: 23 Jun 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Nishiwaki, Takada, Otsuka, Makizako, Sakakima, Shiomi, Ooba, Matsumoto and Kikuchi. 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:
Masato Nishiwaki, Osaka Institute of Technology, Osaka, Japan
Kiyoshi Kikuchi, School of Medicine, Kurume University, Kurume, Fukuoka, Japan

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.

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