Association Between Perceived Physical Fatigability And Cognitive Performance: Study Of Muscle, Mobility, And Aging (SOMMA)
Bibliographic record
Abstract
Higher perceived fatigability—the quantification of vulnerability to fatigue in relation to specific intensity and duration of activities—is associated with poorer central nervous system health, including lower volumes of the thalamus and hippocampus. Understanding whether perceived fatigability is related to cognitive function may inform interventions to prolong independence and improve cognitive outcomes. PURPOSE: Examine the association between perceived physical fatigability and four cognitive function assessments in older adults. METHODS: At baseline, SOMMA participants completed the Pittsburgh Fatigability Scale (PFS) Physical subscale (range 0 - 50; higher scores = greater fatigability) and four cognitive function assessments [Digit Symbol Substitution Test (DSST), Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), Trails Making Test Part B (TMT-B), and California Verbal Learning Test (CVLT)]. Analysis of variance was used to compare characteristics across PFS severity strata (0 - 4, 5 - 9, 10 - 14, 15 - 19, 20 - 24, and ≥ 25). Linear regression quantified associations between PFS and cognitive assessment scores adjusting for site, age, sex, race, education, marital status, and history of stroke, cancer, heart failure, and lung disease. RESULTS: In the 814 participants (59.2% women; age 76.2 ± 4.9 years; 86% White), mean PFS score was 15.7 ± 8.6. Prevalence of cognitive impairment was 52% mild (MoCA 18 - 25), 7% moderate (10 - 17), and 0% severe (< 10). Across PFS severity strata, number of correct DSST items was fewer (59 in 0 - 4 and 52 in ≥25) and number of seconds to complete TMT-B was slower (107 in 0 - 4 and 133 in ≥25), both p ≤ 0.01; MoCA and CVLT did not vary. After adjustments, for each 5-point higher PFS (greater fatigability), participants had 1.65 fewer correct DSST items [β coefficient and 95% confidence interval: -1.65 (-2.20, -1.05)] and 4.30 seconds slower TMT-B time [4.30 (2.30, 6.30)]. PFS was not associated with MoCA and CVLT. CONCLUSION: We demonstrate for the first time that greater perceived physical fatigability may be indicative of subtle cognitive changes, particularly in executive function. Future longitudinal work should incorporate PFS Mental to better characterize the nature of this relation. SOMMA funded by NIA R01AG059416. BTS funded by 2T32AG000181-31.
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How this classification was reachedexpand
Full frame machine prediction
Teacher imitationNot calibrated prevalence, not ground truth. Human validation pending. The Gemma side is a direct model label for every work in the frame, read from the title-only record. The Codex side is a classifier learned from the 10,348 direct Codex labels and calibrated to design-weighted sample rates; fields without enough sample support carry no Codex call. Candidate is the union of the two sides; consensus is their intersection. These outputs are machine_predicted_unvalidated and are not human labels.
Distilled classifier scores by category (both heads)
| Category | Codex | Gemma |
|---|---|---|
| Metaresearch | 0.002 | 0.002 |
| Meta-epidemiology (narrow) | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Meta-epidemiology (broad) | 0.000 | 0.001 |
| Bibliometrics | 0.001 | 0.001 |
| Science and technology studies | 0.001 | 0.000 |
| Scholarly communication | 0.001 | 0.000 |
| Open science | 0.000 | 0.001 |
| Research integrity | 0.001 | 0.001 |
| Insufficient payload (model declined to judge) | 0.001 | 0.000 |
Machine scores (provisional)
The two teacher heads of the student model, read on this work. A score orders the frame for review; it never asserts a category, and the validation status ships verbatim with every row.
Baseline scores from an immature model (maturity gate not passed, 7 training rounds). Scores rank; they never assert a category.
score_only:v0-immature-baseline · verbatim from the scoring run: score_only means the number may rank works, and no category label ships from itClassification
machine, unvalidatedMachine predicted; a candidate call from one source (direct Gemma or distilled Codex), not a consensus.
How this classification was reached, model by model and score by score, is at the end of the page under "How this classification was reached".