2026

Jalanko, Petri; Leppänen, Marja H.; Bond, Bert; Laukkanen, Jari A.; Lakka, Timo A.; Haapala, Eero A.

Purpose: Investigate the associations of cumulative exposure to physical activity (PA), sedentary time (ST), and screen time from childhood to adolescence over an 8-year follow-up with cognition in adolescence. Methods: All together, 260 adolescents (136 boys) who were 15–17 y at 8-y follow-up were analyzed. PA and ST were assessed using an Actiheart device, and different types of PA, nonscreen-based ST, and screen time were assessed by a questionnaire at baseline, 2-y and 8-y examinations. Cognition was assessed using CogState tests at 8-year examinations. Results: Self-reported cumulative unsupervised PA from childhood to adolescence was inversely associated with accuracy in working memory task (standardized regression coefficient, β = −0.127; 95% confidence interval [CI], −0.247 to −0.008) in adolescence. Self-reported nonscreen-based ST was inversely associated with reaction time (β = −0.176; 95% CI, −0.299 to −0.053) and accuracy (β = −0.149; 95% CI, −0.274 to −0.024) in working memory tasks. Self-reported screen time was inversely associated with reaction time (β = −0.194; 95% CI, −0.316 to −0.071) and accuracy (β = −0.233; 95% CI, −0.355 to −0.112) in both working memory tasks and directly associated with overall cognition (β = 0.187; 95% CI, 0.070 to 0.305). Conclusion: Accumulating less unsupervised PA and more screen time from childhood to adolescence was associated with better cognition in adolescence.