The relationship between moderate to vigorous physical activity and cognitive rigidity in anorexia nervosa.

Di Lodovico L(1), Gorwood P(2).

Author information:
(1)Clinique des Maladies Mentales et de l’Encéphale (CMME), Hôpital Sainte-Anne,
GHU Paris Psychiatrie et Neurosciences, 1 Rue Cabanis, Paris 75014, France;
INSERM U1266, Institute of Psychiatry and Neurosciences of Paris (IPNP),
Université de Paris Descartes, PRES Sorbonne Paris Cité, Paris, France.
Electronic address: .
(2)Clinique des Maladies Mentales et de l’Encéphale (CMME), Hôpital Sainte-Anne,
GHU Paris Psychiatrie et Neurosciences, 1 Rue Cabanis, Paris 75014, France;
INSERM U1266, Institute of Psychiatry and Neurosciences of Paris (IPNP),
Université de Paris Descartes, PRES Sorbonne Paris Cité, Paris, France.

A drive for physical activity despite underweight is a core feature of anorexia
nervosa. This pilot study detects which aspect of physical activity, if any,
could be related to cognitive rigidity in anorexia nervosa. Twenty-eight
outpatients with anorexia nervosa and 24 healthy participants were assessed for
cognitive flexibility with the Trail Making Test (TMT) and for multiple
dimensions of physical activity by subjective and objective assessments.
Correlation analysis was conducted to disentangle the relationship between
cognitive rigidity and the different aspects of physical activity, then, the
moderating effect of anorexia nervosa on this relationship was assessed. A
principal component analysis was performed to incorporate all variables of
physical activity in (a) global factor(s) reflecting the multidimensional nature
of this construct. Cognitive rigidity (TMT b – a score) was significantly
correlated to the amount of objectively assessed physical activity estimated,
only in the sample of patients with anorexia nervosa. The principal component
analysis confirms the correlation between a single construct of « physical
activity » and cognitive rigidity in anorexia nervosa only. This pilot study
suggests a relationship between cognitive rigidity and physical activity that
could help explain the persistence of the latter despite ongoing malnutrition in
patients with anorexia nervosa.

Copyright © 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2019.112703
PMID: 31813596 [Indexed for MEDLINE]

Conflict of interest statement: Declaration of Competing Interest Laura Di
Lodovico declares that there is no conflict of interest regarding the
publication of this article. Philip Gorwood declares that there is no conflict
of interest regarding the publication of this article.

Auteurs Bordeaux Neurocampus