More Physical Activity, Less Progression to Dementia

Researchers here note a correlation between greater exercise in late life and reduced risk of progressing from mild cognitive impairment to dementia. As is the case for most human data, causation cannot be shown, but animal data on the benefits of exercise are unambiguous. It seems safe to suggest that human physiology works much the same way, and that the correlation exists because exercise provides benefits that slow down processes of age-related neurodegeneration. Physical activity has been suggested to prevent the conversion of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) to dementia in patients. We investigated the association between the continuance and regularity of physical activity and the risk of developing dementia in patients with MCI. We analyzed 6-year followed up data for 247,149 individuals in the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) cohort of Korea who were enrolled between January 1, 2009, and December 31, 2015. The patients were divided into four groups: those who did not engage in physical activity consistently (Never-PA group), those who initiated physical activity (Initiation-PA group), those who ceased physical activity (Withdrawal-PA group), and those who performed physical activity consistently (Maintenance-PA group). We also divided the patients into two groups: those who engaged in physical activity irregularly (Irregular-PA) and those who undertook physical activity regularly (Regular-PA). Our analysis shows that continued physical ac...
Source: Fight Aging! - Category: Research Authors: Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs