Associations between sedentary behaviors and cognitive health in older adults based on the Taylor taxonomy of sedentary behaviors

Many older adults spend more than half of their time in sedentary behaviors that can lead to poor health outcomes, including declines in cognitive health. However, sedentary behaviors are diverse and can lead to different health outcomes. To determine the relationships between types of sedentary behaviors and cognitive health in older adults, we analyzed associations between sedentary behaviors and cognitive health among adults 50 years and older in the United States who participated in the Health and Retirement Study. We categorized sedentary behaviors based on the four domains of the Taylor taxonomy of sedentary behaviors. We found that certain categories of sedentary behaviors were positively associated with cognitive health in this population. These results support that the Taylor taxonomy can be used to identify sedentary behaviors that promote cognitive health and inform interventions that improve the quality of life of older adults.