Fit women cut dementia risk by 90 per cent, study finds

There have always been links between fitness and health, but new research has found women with high physical fitness are 90 per cent less likely to develop dementia later in life.

The study, published in the latest issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, found that active women dramatically reduce their chances of dementia than those who were moderately fit.

The research used an exercise test to measure cardiovascular fitness and found that even if extremely fit women did develop dementia, it occurred more than a decade later than those who were only moderately fit. Of those who participated in the study, women who developed dementia did so at about 90, rather than 79.

Study author Helena Hörder from the University of Gothenburg, said the results were promising as it effectively proves there is a way to prevent dementia. “These findings are exciting because it’s possible that improving people’s cardiovascular fitness in middle age could delay or even prevent them from developing dementia,” she said in a statement.

“However, this study does not show cause and effect between cardiovascular fitness and dementia, it only shows an association. More research is needed to see if improved fitness could have a positive effect on the risk of dementia and also to look at when during a lifetime a high fitness level is most important.”

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For the research, 191 ladies each completed a bicycle exercise test that measured their peak cardiovascular capacity. Of all the participants, 40 were considered of a high fitness level, 92 ranged in the medium fitness levels and 59 placed in the lowest fitness category.

Over the course of 44 years, each participant was tested for dementia six times. The results found that 44 of the women developed dementia, but only five percent of the highly fit women developed dementia. In comparison, 25 percent of the moderately fit women and 32 percent of the women with low fitness developed dementia.

The results meant that those with greater fitness were 88 per cent less likely to develop dementia. Hörder added that 45 per cent of women who struggled with the exercise test so much that they needed to stop the test developed dementia in later life. “This indicates that negative cardiovascular processes may be happening in midlife that could increase the risk of dementia much later in life,” she said.

It’s not the only study in recent times that’s shown positive results when it comes to preventing dementia. Recent research by the University of Queensland in Australia found that insufficient levels of oxygen during sleep, usually associated with sleep apnoea, can actually increase the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. That research concluded that a good night of sleep can decrease the onset of cognitive problems.

What do you think? Do you consider yourself fit? Would you be more active if it could positively impact your cognitive health?