<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><!DOCTYPE article PUBLIC "-//NLM//DTD Journal Publishing DTD v2.0 20040830//EN" "journalpublishing.dtd"><article xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" dtd-version="2.0" xml:lang="en" article-type="letter"><front><journal-meta><journal-id journal-id-type="nlm-ta">JMIR Public Health Surveill</journal-id><journal-id journal-id-type="publisher-id">publichealth</journal-id><journal-id journal-id-type="index">9</journal-id><journal-title>JMIR Public Health and Surveillance</journal-title><abbrev-journal-title>JMIR Public Health Surveill</abbrev-journal-title><issn pub-type="epub">2369-2960</issn><publisher><publisher-name>JMIR Publications</publisher-name><publisher-loc>Toronto, Canada</publisher-loc></publisher></journal-meta><article-meta><article-id pub-id-type="publisher-id">v10i1e63067</article-id><article-id pub-id-type="doi">10.2196/63067</article-id><article-categories><subj-group subj-group-type="heading"><subject>Letter to the Editor</subject></subj-group></article-categories><title-group><article-title>The Impact of Social Support on the Relationship Between Physical Exercise and Cognitive Function in Older Adults: Sociological Perspective</article-title></title-group><contrib-group><contrib contrib-type="author"><name name-style="western"><surname>Li</surname><given-names>Yuan</given-names></name><degrees>MSc</degrees><xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff1"/></contrib><contrib contrib-type="author" corresp="yes"><name name-style="western"><surname>Zhai</surname><given-names>Qun</given-names></name><degrees>PhD</degrees><xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff1"/></contrib><contrib contrib-type="author"><name name-style="western"><surname>Peng</surname><given-names>Weihang</given-names></name><degrees>MEng</degrees><xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff1"/></contrib></contrib-group><aff id="aff1"><institution>Faculty of Health Sciences and Sports, Macao Polytechnic University</institution>, <addr-line>Comes Street</addr-line><addr-line>Macau Special Administrative Region</addr-line>, <country>China</country></aff><contrib-group><contrib contrib-type="editor"><name name-style="western"><surname>Mavragani</surname><given-names>Amaryllis</given-names></name></contrib><contrib contrib-type="editor"><name name-style="western"><surname>Gandhi</surname><given-names>Kirti</given-names></name></contrib></contrib-group><author-notes><corresp>Correspondence to Qun Zhai, PhD, Faculty of Health Sciences and Sports, Macao Polytechnic University, Comes Street, Macau Special Administrative Region, 999078, China, 86 68911106, 86 68911106; <email>zqun0830@gmail.com</email></corresp></author-notes><pub-date pub-type="collection"><year>2024</year></pub-date><pub-date pub-type="epub"><day>4</day><month>10</month><year>2024</year></pub-date><volume>10</volume><elocation-id>e63067</elocation-id><history><date date-type="received"><day>09</day><month>06</month><year>2024</year></date><date date-type="accepted"><day>10</day><month>09</month><year>2024</year></date></history><copyright-statement>&#x00A9; Yuan Li, Qun Zhai, Weihang Peng. Originally published in JMIR Public Health and Surveillance (<ext-link ext-link-type="uri" xlink:href="https://publichealth.jmir.org">https://publichealth.jmir.org</ext-link>), 4.10.2024. </copyright-statement><copyright-year>2024</copyright-year><license license-type="open-access" xlink:href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"><p>This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (<ext-link ext-link-type="uri" xlink:href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/</ext-link>), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work, first published in JMIR Public Health and Surveillance, is properly cited. The complete bibliographic information, a link to the original publication on <ext-link ext-link-type="uri" xlink:href="https://publichealth.jmir.org">https://publichealth.jmir.org</ext-link>, as well as this copyright and license information must be included.</p></license><self-uri xlink:type="simple" xlink:href="https://publichealth.jmir.org/2024/1/e63067"/><related-article related-article-type="commentary article" id="v10" ext-link-type="doi" xlink:href="10.2196/49790" xlink:title="Comment on" vol="10" xlink:type="simple">https://publichealth.jmir.org/2024/1/e49790</related-article><kwd-group><kwd>social support</kwd><kwd>physical exercise</kwd><kwd>cognitive function</kwd><kwd>elderly</kwd><kwd>sociological perspective</kwd></kwd-group></article-meta></front><body><p>Our research team recently read the article &#x201C;Relationship Between Physical Exercise and Cognitive Function Among Older Adults in China: Cross-Sectional Population-Based Study&#x201D; [<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref1">1</xref>] and was deeply touched. Through rigorous data analysis and detailed research methods, this article reveals the significant relationship between physical exercise and cognitive function in older adults, providing an important theoretical and practical reference for the research field of public health and aging.</p><p>Regarding the scientific rigor of this paper in terms of the study design and data analysis, by using data from the China Longitudinal Aging Social Survey, the authors carefully explored the relationship between different exercise intensities and cognitive function through multivariate regression analysis. The results showed that physical activity levels of 500 to 1499 metabolic equivalent of task minutes per week were significantly and positively associated with higher cognitive function scores&#x2014;a finding that provides an empirical basis for cognitive health intervention strategies in older adults.</p><p>However, this paper also has some limitations. The study has a cross-sectional design, which means that a causal relationship between exercise and cognitive function cannot be established. Further, the data mainly rely on self-reports and may be subject to some reporting bias, and these factors may have a significant impact on cognitive function.</p><p>From a sociological perspective, future research could delve into the moderating role of social support in the relationship between physical exercise and cognitive function in older adults. Social support includes support from family, friends, the community, and other levels, which can significantly affect the mental health and quality of life of older adults [<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref2">2</xref>]. At present, some studies have explored the impact of social support on the health of older adults from a sociological perspective [<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref1">1</xref>,<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref3">3</xref>]. Good social support can significantly improve the quality of life of older adults and slow down the process of cognitive decline. In addition, participation in community-organized physical activities can effectively improve the cognitive function and mental health of older adults [<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref4">4</xref>,<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref5">5</xref>].</p><p>Government and public health agencies should develop policies to encourage and support communities to build age-friendly sports facilities and activity places. At the same time, funding and resources should be provided to support community organizations in organizing regular health activities for older adults. Through family education and publicity, family members&#x2019; awareness of the importance of physical exercise for older adults has been improved, and they have been encouraged to actively participate in and support the sports activities of older adults. Communities should actively organize and promote various forms of physical activities for older adults, such as tai chi, square dancing, and vigorous walking, and encourage older adults to participate in volunteer activities to enhance their social ties and mental health.</p><p>Overall, we would like to thank the journal for publishing this important research paper that allows us to better understand the effects of physical exercise on cognitive function in older adults from a sociological perspective. We hope to see more such studies in the future to provide more scientific and comprehensive health intervention strategies for the older adult population.</p></body><back><fn-group><fn fn-type="conflict"><p>None declared.</p></fn><fn fn-type="other"><p><bold>Editorial Notice</bold></p><p>The corresponding author of &#x201C;Relationship Between Physical Exercise and Cognitive Function Among Older Adults in China: Cross-Sectional Population-Based Study&#x201D; declined to respond to this letter.</p></fn></fn-group><ref-list><title>References</title><ref id="ref1"><label>1</label><nlm-citation citation-type="journal"><person-group person-group-type="author"><name name-style="western"><surname>Wang</surname><given-names>F</given-names> </name><name name-style="western"><surname>Gao</surname><given-names>C</given-names> </name><name name-style="western"><surname>Wang</surname><given-names>Y</given-names> </name><name name-style="western"><surname>Li</surname><given-names>Z</given-names> </name><name name-style="western"><surname>Zheng</surname><given-names>F</given-names> </name><name name-style="western"><surname>Luo</surname><given-names>Y</given-names> </name></person-group><article-title>Relationship between physical exercise and cognitive function among older adults in China: cross-sectional population-based study</article-title><source>JMIR Public Health Surveill</source><year>2024</year><month>05</month><day>30</day><volume>10</volume><issue>1</issue><fpage>e49790</fpage><pub-id pub-id-type="doi">10.2196/49790</pub-id><pub-id pub-id-type="medline">38815262</pub-id></nlm-citation></ref><ref id="ref2"><label>2</label><nlm-citation citation-type="journal"><person-group person-group-type="author"><name name-style="western"><surname>Choi</surname><given-names>NG</given-names> </name><name name-style="western"><surname>Wodarski</surname><given-names>JS</given-names> </name></person-group><article-title>The relationship between social support and health status of elderly people: does social support slow down physical and functional deterioration?</article-title><source>Soc Work Res</source><year>1996</year><month>03</month><volume>20</volume><issue>1</issue><fpage>52</fpage><lpage>63</lpage><pub-id pub-id-type="medline">10154541</pub-id></nlm-citation></ref><ref id="ref3"><label>3</label><nlm-citation citation-type="journal"><person-group person-group-type="author"><name name-style="western"><surname>Schwarzer</surname><given-names>R</given-names> </name><name name-style="western"><surname>Leppin</surname><given-names>A</given-names> </name></person-group><article-title>Social support and health: a theoretical and empirical overview</article-title><source>J Soc Pers Relat</source><year>1991</year><month>02</month><volume>8</volume><issue>1</issue><fpage>99</fpage><lpage>127</lpage><pub-id pub-id-type="doi">10.1177/0265407591081005</pub-id></nlm-citation></ref><ref id="ref4"><label>4</label><nlm-citation citation-type="journal"><person-group person-group-type="author"><name name-style="western"><surname>Kelly</surname><given-names>ME</given-names> </name><name name-style="western"><surname>Duff</surname><given-names>H</given-names> </name><name name-style="western"><surname>Kelly</surname><given-names>S</given-names> </name><etal/></person-group><article-title>The impact of social activities, social networks, social support and social relationships on the cognitive functioning of healthy older adults: a systematic review</article-title><source>Syst Rev</source><year>2017</year><month>12</month><day>19</day><volume>6</volume><issue>1</issue><fpage>259</fpage><pub-id pub-id-type="doi">10.1186/s13643-017-0632-2</pub-id><pub-id pub-id-type="medline">29258596</pub-id></nlm-citation></ref><ref id="ref5"><label>5</label><nlm-citation citation-type="journal"><person-group person-group-type="author"><name name-style="western"><surname>Yeh</surname><given-names>SCJ</given-names> </name><name name-style="western"><surname>Liu</surname><given-names>YY</given-names> </name></person-group><article-title>Influence of social support on cognitive function in the elderly</article-title><source>BMC Health Serv Res</source><year>2003</year><month>05</month><day>30</day><volume>3</volume><issue>1</issue><fpage>1</fpage><lpage>9</lpage><pub-id pub-id-type="doi">10.1186/1472-6963-3-9</pub-id><pub-id pub-id-type="medline">12775218</pub-id></nlm-citation></ref></ref-list></back></article>