|
Exercise
May Help Elderly
Avoid Mental Decline
NEW
YORK (Reuters Health) - Exercising for more than an hour each
day may help older adults prevent a decline in mental abilities,
according to results of a study from the Netherlands.
The association
between inactivity and mental decline was particularly strong
in individuals who also carried the so-called Alzheimer's gene,
the researchers report in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports
& Exercise.
Lead author
Dr. Albertine J. Schuit and colleagues from The National Institute
of Public Health and the Environment in Bilthoven evaluated 347
men whose average age was 75.
The men underwent
tests that assessed their mental functioning and were asked how
much exercise they performed each day. All study participants
were also tested for the gene variant ApoE-4, which is associated
with an increased risk of Alzheimer's disease.
Men who exercised
for one hour or less each day were more likely to have impaired
mental function than those who performed more than one hour of
exercise daily. The least-active men had twice the risk of mental
decline. The least-active men who also carried the ApoE-4 gene
had a risk of mental decline that was nearly four times greater
than that of active men without the gene, the report indicates.
``The stronger
association between physical activity and mental decline in carriers
of the ApoE-4 gene as described in our study has not been reported
before,'' Schuit and colleagues write.
``Our study
indicates that genetic predisposition may be an important risk
factor to consider in future research investigating the effect
of physical activity on mental functioning,'' the authors add.
The link between
exercise and mental decline probably lies in the role exercise
plays in overall brain health, the researchers suggest.
For example,
exercise is known to increase blood flow to the brain, which helps
maintain healthy oxygen levels. Regular physical activity is also
believed to stimulate nerve cell regeneration and reduce levels
of stress hormones such as cortisol, which are both associated
with mental functioning.
SOURCE:
Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise 2001;33:772-777.
Reference
Source 89
For more information on how to prevent other diseases, use
PreventDisease.com's "Quick
Prevention Resources".
|
