Even Low-Level Activity May Help Reduce Dementia Risk

A study published in Neurology determined any kind of physical activity may shield a person's brain against dementia, reports Medical News Today . More than 450 older men and women, 191 of whom had a dementia diagnosis, were analyzed. All participants used an accelerometer about two years prior to death, and the researchers used a week's worth of accelerometer data to calculate an average daily activity score; the average of the entire cohort was 160,000 counts daily, but those with dementia averaged a daily count of 130,000, and those lacking dementia had an average daily count of 180,000. The implication was that more daily movement is connected with better memory and thinking abilities, as are higher levels of motor skills. Moreover, participants were 31 percent less likely to develop dementia for every standard deviation of increase in physical activity, and the same deviation increase in motor skills equated to a person being 55 percent less likely to develop dementia. Post-mortem brain analysis also supported the links between physical activity and dementia and motor skills and dementia, with Alzheimer's biomarkers apparently having no effect on the results.