Increasing physical activity in midlife or later can reduce the chance of developing dementia by up to 45 percent, according to a recent study published in JAMA Network Open.
Researchers at the Boston University School of Public Health analyzed data from more than 4,300 people in the Framingham Heart Study Offspring, all of whom did not have dementia at the start of the study.
Individuals completed a questionnaire reporting their amount of sleep and level of physical activity (sedentary, light, moderate, or vigorous), according to the study report.
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The researchers looked at the physical activity of individuals across three life stages – early adulthood (ages 26-44), middle age (45-64) and late life (65-88).
Increasing physical activity in midlife or later can reduce the chance of developing dementia by up to 45 percent, according to a recent study published in JAMA Network Open.
They followed the participants for an average of 37.2, 25.9 and 14.5 years, respectively, to monitor the onset of Alzheimer’s disease and other types of dementia.
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Those in the top two quintiles of midlife physical activity were associated with a 40% lower risk of all-cause dementia over a 26-year period compared to those with the lowest levels of activity.
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People in the top two quintiles of late physical activity were associated with a 36% to 45% lower risk of dementia over 15 years.
Those with the highest physical activity in midlife were associated with a 40% lower risk of all-cause dementia over a 26-year period compared to those with the lowest levels of activity.
“These results may help inform more precise and effective strategies to prevent or delay the onset of dementia later in life and support evidence that the benefits of physical activity on the brain may extend to earlier in life than previously thought,” study author Phillip Hwang, Ph.D., of the Boston University School of Public Health’s Department of Epidemiology, told Fox News Digital.
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Greater activity in midlife was associated with a lower risk of dementia only in people without APOE4, a genetic variant linked to a higher risk of Alzheimer’s.
However, this was not the case for the higher activity group, which showed a reduced risk of dementia among both APOE4 carriers and those without the gene, according to the study.
“There are several possible mechanisms by which physical activity is thought to reduce the risk of dementia, such as improving brain structure and function, reducing inflammation, and exerting benefits on vascular function,” Hwang told Fox News Digital.
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Physical activity may have a direct impact on the pathology of Alzheimer’s disease, such as the accumulation of toxic beta-amyloid in the brain, according to the researcher.
Physical activity can have a direct impact on the pathology of Alzheimer’s disease, such as the accumulation of toxic beta-amyloid in the brain.
“These potential mechanisms may contribute to the facilitation of cognitive reserve, which may delay cognitive impairment in late life.”
More research is needed to understand whether these possible causes all happen at the same time throughout a person’s life, or whether different causes occur at different stages, the researchers said.
Dr. Cathryn Devons, MD, who specializes in geriatric medicine at Phelps Hospital Northwell Health in Sleepy Hollow, New York, was not part of the study but commented on the results.
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Exercise can lower your risk of high blood pressure, stroke, vascular disease, cholesterol levels and diabetes — “all the things that put you at risk for circulatory problems in the brain,” she told Fox News Digital.
The doctor also noted that exercise is known to help reduce inflammation, which can protect brain health.
A limitation of the study is that physical activity was based on self-report, Hwang told Fox News Digital.
Physical activity can have a direct impact on the pathology of Alzheimer’s disease, such as the accumulation of toxic beta-amyloid in the brain.
“Although we can say from these results that higher levels of overall physical activity are associated with a reduced risk of dementia, these results may not translate well into recommendations about specific types of exercise,” he said.
Also, physical activity level in early adulthood was not related to all-cause dementia or Alzheimer’s dementia.
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“It may have been underpowered to detect associations with early adult life physical activity due to the small number of dementia cases in this age group,” the authors noted.
Devons agreed that while the study may have limitations, it supports the idea that exercise may reduce the risk of dementia.
Source of the original article: Alzheimer’s risk drops sharply with one daily lifestyle change, researchers say