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The Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences Advance Access published online on February 10, 2009
The Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, doi:10.1093/geronb/gbn033
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© The Author 2009. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org.

Genetic and Environmental Links Between Cognitive and Physical Functions in Old Age

Wendy Johnson1,2, Ian J. Deary1, Matt McGue2,3 and Kaare Christensen4

1 Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, Scotland
2 Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis
3 Department of Epidemiology, University of Southern Denmark, Odense
4 The Danish Twin Registry and the Danish Aging Research Center, University of Southern Denmark, Odense

Address correspondence to Wendy Johnson, PhD, Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities Campus, 75 East River Road, Minneapolis, MN 55455. Email: wendy.johnson{at}ed.ac.uk


  Abstract

In old age, cognitive and physical functions are correlated. Knowing the correlations between genetic and environmental influences underlying this correlation can help to clarify the reasons for the observable (phenotypic) correlation. We estimated these correlations in a sample of 1,053 pairs of twins from the Longitudinal Study of Aging Danish Twins. Cognitive function was measured using forward and backward digit span, immediate and delayed memory, and fluency tasks. Physical function was measured using self-report of ability to carry out physical activities including walking, running, and climbing stairs. The phenotypic correlation between latent variable representations was .46 (95% confidence interval 0.27–0.65). The genetic correlation was .56 (95% confidence interval 0.15–1.00) and the nonshared environmental correlation .48 (95% confidence interval 0.35–0.61). We discuss several ways of interpreting these correlations.

Key Words: Genetic and environmental correlation • late-life cognitive ability • physical fitness

Received January 18, 2008; Accepted August 21, 2008

Decision Editor: Rosemary Blieszner, PhD


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