|
Exercise
May Cut Risk Of Mental Decline
NEW
YORK (Reuters Health) - Although exercise is usually promoted
for weight loss and better heart health, there is growing evidence
that regular physical activity helps ward off mental declines
as people age, and may even protect against Alzheimer's disease.
A new study out of Canada suggests that exercise cuts the risk
of Alzheimer's and less-devastating mental losses, particularly
in women.
In a 5-year
study of men and women aged 65 and older, researchers found that
exercisers were less likely to develop Alzheimer's and other forms
of dementia, and were less likely to see a drop-off in their mental
abilities. And the more a person exercised, the greater the protection
for the brain.
People with
the highest activity levels were half as likely as inactive individuals
to develop Alzheimer's, and were around 40% less likely to suffer
any dementia or mental impairment, the report indicates.
The findings
are published in the March issue of the Archives of Neurology.
Danielle Laurin of Laval University in Sainte-Foy, Quebec, led
the study.
Previous research
has suggested exercise helps people retain their mental prowess
as they age, and may even stave off Alzheimer's and other dementia.
It has been suggested that because exercise helps maintain healthy
blood flow and lowers high blood pressure and cholesterol, it
may protect the brain just as it does the heart and other organs.
But other
researchers have failed to uncover a protective effect of exercise.
In this study, Laurin's team analyzed data from a national study
that collected exercise and health information on about 4,600
older adults over a 5-year period.
The investigators
found that the more activity participants reported at the study's
start, the less likely they were to suffer mental decline. People
who exercised vigorously at least three times per week were considered
highly active and had the lowest Alzheimer's risk. But those who
engaged in light or moderate exercise also saw significant cuts
in their risks for Alzheimer's and mental decline.
Women got
the lion's share of these benefits. Although there was an association
between exercise and lowered risk of mental decline among men,
the researchers report, the link was not nearly as strong as that
for women. The reasons are unclear.
These findings
are important because ``right now, we don't have a lot of protective
factors'' against Alzheimer's and dementia, Dr. Neil Buckholtz
of the National Institute on Aging in Bethesda, Maryland, said
in an interview with Reuters Health.
Although other
studies on this relationship have turned up conflicting evidence,
Buckholtz said the Canadian study is the largest one he knows
of. He noted that it also appears to be the first to show such
broad-ranging effects of exercise-protecting against both the
profound dementia of Alzheimer's to less-serious dips in mental
skills.
According
to Buckholtz, it remains unclear what types of exercise are most
beneficial and whether life-long exercise or exercise during old
age is more important. Teasing out these details is the next step
in this area of research, he said.
SOURCE:
Archives of Neurology 2001;58:498-504.
Reference
Source 89
For
more information on how to prevent other diseases, use
PreventDisease.com's "Quick
Prevention Resources".
|
