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Correlation Between Physical Activity, Social Isolation and Cognitive Function in Retired Adults: A Pilot Study

PSB Roshan, Suresh B V, Aishwarya Ravi Hegade

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Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy Journal 19(4):p 293-300, Oct - Dec. 2026. | DOI: 10.21088/potj.0974.5777.19426.4

How Cite This Article:

PSB Roshan, Suresh B V, Aishwarya Ravi Hegade. Correlation Between Physical Activity, Social Isolation and Cognitive Function In Retired Adults: A Pilot Study. Therapy Jr. 2026; 19(4): 293-300

Timeline

Received : July 27, 2026         Accepted : August 21, 2026          Published : December 30, 2026

Abstract

Background: Retirement is a significant change in life that can lead to variations in physical activity levels, social interactions, and cognitive health. Decreased exercise and elevated It has been discovered that social isolation be important risk factors for cognitive decline among older adults. Aims: This study’s goal was to ascertain the connection between exercise, social isolation, and cognitive function among retired adults. Settings and Design: A pilot research was conducted on retired adults aged 60 years and above with no active employment at the AJ Urban Health Center. Methods and Materials: Retired adults aged ≥60 years were hired based on convenience sampling. Physical activity, social isolation, cognitive skills were assessed using the Scale of Physical Activity for the Elderly, Revised UCLA Loneliness Scale, and Montreal Cognitive Assessment, respectively. Statistical Analysis Used: IBM SPSS Statistics was used to analyze the data version 29.0. Characteristic statistics and Karl Pearson’s correlation coefficient were used. The statistical significance threshold was fixed at P <0.05. Results: Physical activity showed a marginally favorable relationship with social isolation (r = 0.190, p = 0.555) and a somewhat favorable association with cognitive function (r = 0.486, p = 0.109). Social isolation demonstrated a slight negative correlation with cognitive function (r = −0.326, p = 0.300). However, none of the observed correlations were statistically significant.


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Data Sharing Statement

There are no additional data available. All raw data and code are available upon request.

Funding

This research received no funding.

Author Contributions

All authors contributed significantly to the work and approve its publication.

Ethics Declaration

This article does not involve any human or animal subjects, and therefore does not require ethics approval.

Acknowledgements

We would like to express our gratitude to the patients, their families, and all those who have contributed to this study

Conflicts of Interest

No conflicts of interest in this work.


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Cite this article

PSB Roshan, Suresh B V, Aishwarya Ravi Hegade. Correlation Between Physical Activity, Social Isolation and Cognitive Function In Retired Adults: A Pilot Study. Therapy Jr. 2026; 19(4): 293-300


Licence:

Attribution-Non-commercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)

This license enables reusers to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format for noncommercial purposes only, and only so long as attribution is given to the creator.



Received Accepted Published
July 27, 2026 August 21, 2026 December 30, 2026

DOI: 10.21088/potj.0974.5777.19426.4

Keywords

PSB Roshan1Physical ActivitySocial IsolationCognitive FunctionRetired AdultsAging

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Received July 27, 2026
Accepted August 21, 2026
Published December 30, 2026

licence


Attribution-Non-commercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)

This license enables reusers to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format for noncommercial purposes only, and only so long as attribution is given to the creator.



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