The mediation effect of self–report physical activity patterns in the relationship between educational level and cognitive impairment in elderly: A cross-sectional analysis of chilean health national survey 2016–2017

The aims of this cross-sectional study were (i) to determine the association of educational level attained with cognitive impairment and (ii) to investigate the mediating effect of different self-report physical activity (PA) patterns in a large sample of older Chileans. A sample of 1571 older adults from the National Chilean Survey (2016–2017) was included. The educational level attained, PA levels, mode of commuting, sedentary time, and leisure-time PA were self-reported through validated questionnaires. Cognitive impairment was determined by Mini-Mental State Examination (modified version). Association between educational level attained and cognitive impairment was examined using logistic regression models. Counterfactual mediation models were used to test the mediating effect of self-reported PA patterns. A lower educational level was consistently associated with higher odds of cognitive impairment (OR range 2.846 to 2.266, all p < 0.001), while leisure-time PA was the only PA pattern that partially mediated this association (proportion mediated 8.0%). In conclusion, leisure-time PA was the solely PA pattern that partially mediated the association between the educational level and cognitive impairment. The rest self-reported PA patterns did not modify this association.