High levels of physical fitness are associated with lower risk of dementia for people with a genetic predisposition, according to a new study.
Strengthening cardiorespiratory fitness may therefore be a strategy if patients have a genetic predisposition to Alzheimer’s disease, which researchers say could reduce the risk by up to 35%. states.
It has been suggested that higher cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF), the ability of the circulatory and respiratory systems to deliver oxygen to muscles, is associated with improved cognitive performance and lower long-term dementia risk. Ta. Published by British Journal of Sports Medicine.
Scientists say that CRF declines more and more every decade as we age and lose skeletal muscle. Previous research has shown that lower CRF is a stronger predictor of stroke, heart attack, and early death from all causes.
Most previous studies investigating the effects of CRF on cognitive function and dementia risk involved only small numbers of participants, but now Swedish scientists looked at a larger sample of 61,000 people. conducted research.
All participants, all without dementia, were aged between 39 and 70 years old and were followed for up to 12 years after enrolling in the UK Biobank study in 2009-2010.
A 6-minute exercise test on a stationary bike was first completed to estimate CRF, and cognitive function was estimated using neuropsychological tests. Genetic predisposition to dementia was estimated using the Alzheimer’s disease polygenic risk score.
During up to 12 years of follow-up, 553 people (0.9%) were diagnosed with dementia.
The analysis divided participants into three age- and gender-standardized groups according to their CRF scores and showed that those with higher CRF had better cognitive function and lower risk of dementia. .
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“Compared to those with low CRF, those with high CRF had an overall dementia incidence rate ratio of 0.6 and delayed the onset of dementia by 1.48 years,” said study author Professor Weili Xu from Karolinska Institutet. .
“High CRF also reduces all dementia risk by 35% in people with intermediate or high polygenic risk scores.”
She pointed out that this is an observational study and cannot establish cause and effect.
Further research is needed on the relationship between CRF and brain health, particularly in older adults, and the mechanisms by which CRF alters the relationship between genetic risk and dementia.
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However, Professor Xu said: “Our study shows that higher CRF is associated with better cognitive function and lower dementia risk.”
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