Exercising once a week is linked to a lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease

Exercising at least once a week can lower your risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, even if you already have memory problems, a new study has found.

Researchers at Yonsei University College of Medicine in Korea have looked at the health records of people with a condition known as mild cognitive impairment that causes them to have more memory problems than people their age. ‘would normally suffer.

People with the disease who exercised at least once a week were 18% less likely to later develop Alzheimer’s disease than people with a more sedentary lifestyle. .

People with mild cognitive impairment have a ten times higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease than the general population.

Researchers at Yonsei University College of Medicine in Korea have looked at the health records of people with a condition known as mild cognitive impairment that causes them to have more memory problems than people their age. ‘would normally suffer. Stock image

Korean researchers say people who engaged in vigorous or moderate physical activity for at least ten minutes more than once a week had the greatest reduction in their overall risk of later developing Alzheimer’s disease, at 18%.

Those who started exercising after their diagnosis still had an 11% lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease than those who didn’t exercise at all.

However, to keep the risk factor lower, people need to continue to exercise even after diagnosis – because quitting takes you back to square one, they found.

Hanna Cho, author of the study, said that regular exercise should be recommended for patients with mild cognitive impairment to protect against Alzheimer’s disease.

“Even if a person with mild cognitive impairment did not exercise regularly before their diagnosis, our results suggest that starting to exercise regularly after diagnosis could significantly reduce their risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.

The authors used data from the electronic health record of people diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment from the Korea National Health Insurance Service cohort from 2009 to 2015. The average age of participants ranged from 64 to 69 years.

Physical activity was measured using a questionnaire asking participants how much they had exercised in the previous seven days.

Of the 247,149 participants included in the study, 99,873 did not exercise regularly, 45,598 began exercising after being diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment, 45014 stopped exercising after diagnosis and 56664 exercised more than once per week before and after diagnosis.

At the end of the follow-up period, 8.7% of those who did not exercise were diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, compared with 4.8% of those who exercised more than once per week.

Of those who started exercising after diagnosis, 6.3% developed Alzheimer’s disease, compared with 7.7% of those who stopped exercising.

Korean researchers say people who engaged in vigorous or moderate physical activity for at least ten minutes more than once a week had the greatest reduction in their overall risk of later developing Alzheimer’s disease, at 18%. Stock image

The authors suggest that regular exercise may increase the production of molecules that support the growth and survival of neurons or increase blood flow to the brain.

They theorize that it could prevent a reduction in brain volume often associated with dementia.

The authors caution that because the information on physical activity was collected at two points in the study, it is not known whether the type, intensity, duration or frequency of the participants’ exercise. changed at other times.

Further research is needed to assess the duration of the protective effect of regular physical activity against Alzheimer’s disease and to investigate the biological mechanisms underlying the protective effect.

The results were published in the journal Alzheimer’s Research & Therapy.

WHAT IS DEMENTIA? THE KILLING DISEASE THAT ROBS SUFFER FROM THEIR MEMORIES

Dementia is an umbrella term used to describe a range of neurological disorders

A GLOBAL CONCERN

Dementia is an umbrella term used to describe a range of progressive neurological disorders (those affecting the brain) that impact memory, thinking, and behavior.

There are many types of dementia, of which Alzheimer’s disease is the most common.

Some people can have a combination of types of dementia.

Regardless of the type diagnosed, each person will experience their dementia in their own way.

Dementia is a global concern, but it is most often seen in wealthier countries, where people are likely to live very old.

HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE AFFECTED?

The Alzheimer’s Society reports that there are over 850,000 people with dementia in the UK today, including over 500,000 with Alzheimer’s.

It is estimated that the number of people living with dementia in the UK by 2025 will rise to over one million.

In the United States, it is estimated that there are 5.5 million people with Alzheimer’s disease. A similar percentage increase is expected in the coming years.

As a person’s age increases, the risk of developing dementia also increases.

Diagnosis rates are improving, but it is believed that many people with dementia still go undiagnosed.

Is there a cure?

There is currently no cure for dementia.

But newer drugs can slow its progression and the earlier it is detected, the more effective the treatments.

Source: Alzheimer Society