Conclusions The Timed Up- and -Go test measure appears not to be a useful measure of physical functioning for the driving outcomes included here .
The Rapid Pace Walk may be useful in studies of driving ability and exposure .
Background Improving physical functioning may be a future intervention to keep older adults driving safely longer as it can help maintain both physical and cognitive health longer .
This systematic review assesses the evidence on the association between three physical functioning measures : the Short Physical Performance Battery , the Timed Up- and -Go test , and the Rapid Pace Walk with driving outcomes in older adults .
Effect of a 24-Month Physical Activity Intervention vs Health Education on Cognitive Outcomes in Sedentary Older Adults: The LIFE Randomized Trial.
IMPORTANCE Epidemiological evidence suggests that physical activity benefits cognition , but results from r and omized trials are limited and mixed . OBJECTIVE To determine whether a 24-month physical activity program results in better cognitive function , lower risk of mild cognitive impairment ( MCI )  or dementia , or both , compared with a health education program . DESIGN , SETTING , AND PARTICIPANTS A r and omized clinical trial , the Lifestyle Interventions and Independence for Elders ( LIFE ) study , enrolled 1635 community-living participants at 8 US centers from February 2010 until December 2011 . Participants were sedentary adults aged 70 to 89 years who were at risk for mobility disability but able to walk 400 m. INTERVENTIONS A structured , moderate-intensity physical activity program ( n = 818 ) that included walking , resistance training , and flexibility exercises or a health education program ( n = 817 ) of educational workshops and upper-extremity stretching . MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Prespecified secondary outcomes of the LIFE study included cognitive function measured by the Digit Symbol Coding ( DSC ) task subtest of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale ( score range : 0 - 133 ; higher scores indicate better function ) and the revised Hopkins Verbal Learning Test ( HVLT-R ; 12-item word list recall task ) assessed in 1476 participants ( 90.3 % ) . Tertiary outcomes included global and executive cognitive function and incident MCI or dementia at 24 months . RESULTS At 24 months , DSC task and HVLT-R scores ( adjusted for clinic site , sex , and baseline values ) were not different between groups . The mean DSC task scores were 46.26 points for the physical activity group vs 46.28 for the health education group ( mean difference , -0.01 points [ 95 % CI , -0.80 to 0.77 points ] , P = .97 ) . The mean HVLT-R delayed recall scores were 7.22 for the physical activity group vs 7.25 for the health education group ( mean difference , -0.03 words [ 95 % CI , -0.29 to 0.24 words ] , P = .84 ) . No differences for any other cognitive or composite measures were observed . Participants in the physical activity group who were 80 years or older ( n = 307 ) and those with poorer baseline physical performance ( n = 328 ) had better changes in executive function composite scores compared with the health education group ( P = .01 for interaction for both comparisons ) . Incident MCI or dementia occurred in 98 participants ( 13.2 % ) in the physical activity group and 91 participants ( 12.1 % ) in the health education group ( odds ratio , 1.08 [ 95 % CI , 0.80 to 1.46 ] ) . CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE Among sedentary older adults , a 24-month moderate-intensity physical activity program compared with a health education program did not result in improvements in global or domain-specific cognitive function . TRIAL REGISTRATION clinical trials.gov Identifier : NCT01072500
Conclusions The Timed Up- and -Go test measure appears not to be a useful measure of physical functioning for the driving outcomes included here .
The Rapid Pace Walk may be useful in studies of driving ability and exposure .
Background Improving physical functioning may be a future intervention to keep older adults driving safely longer as it can help maintain both physical and cognitive health longer .
This systematic review assesses the evidence on the association between three physical functioning measures : the Short Physical Performance Battery , the Timed Up- and -Go test , and the Rapid Pace Walk with driving outcomes in older adults .