“Highly-fit” middle age women drastically cut odds of developing dementia

“Highly-fit” middle age women drastically cut odds of developing dementia

According to a recent study, middle age woman can dramatically reduce their odds of developing dementia if they remain highly physically fit. The study found that a fit body at age 50 may mean a fit brain at age 90. This news is from a study published online in an issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. The research showed that women with high physical fitness at middle age were nearly 90 percent less likely to develop dementia decades later, compared to women who were moderately fit.

Results from the study

This study recruited 191 Swedish women with an average age of 50 who were followed for 44 years. Each woman took a bicycle exercise test to measure their peak cardiovascular capacity until they were exhausted. The average peak workload was measured at 103 watts. Out of the total number of women involved with the study, 40 of the women met the criteria for a high fitness level, or 120 watts or higher. A total of 92 women were in the medium fitness category, and 59 women were in the low fitness category, defined as a peak workload of 80 watts or less. For the women in the low fitness category, they also had to have their exercise test stopped either due to high blood pressure, chest pain, or other cardiovascular problems.

During the 44 years of this ongoing study, each woman was tested for dementia six times.  Over the course of that time, 44 of the women developed dementia.  Out of the women considered highly fit, only five percent of them developed dementia compared to 25 percent of moderately fit women and 32 percent of the women with low fitness. The highly fit women were 88 percent less likely to develop dementia than the moderately fit women. Only 1 in 20 of the highly fit women developed dementia compared with 1 in 4 of the moderately fit women and 1 in 3 of the least-fit women.

The women who were in the low fitness category, 45 percent of them developed dementia decades later. Also, the few highly fit women who did develop dementia did so around age 90, an average of 11 years later than the moderately fit women.

What do these results mean?

The takeaway message from this study is that it may indicate that cardiovascular issues such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, obesity, that are happening in midlife could increase the risk of dementia much later in life.

It appears that having good blood flow to the brain is crucial to preventing dementia from developing. The researchers stated that the earlier in life a woman begins exercising and participating in physical activity to keep highly fit the better. It is recommended to get in at least 150 minutes a week of moderate-level aerobic activity such as brisk walking, bicycling, swimming, or running. By doing this, it may directly affect the brain by improving the wiring and the connectivity and communication going on in the brain itself.