For FULL-SCREEN-VIEW, click the icon in the lower right corner of video.
Article:
(Toronto, ON) – Women who are physically active at any age, but especially as
teenagers, have better cognitive performance and a lower chance of cognitive impairment in old
age.
A new study is the first to examine the association of physical activity at several ages across the
life course with late life cognitive function. “This research provides evidence that physical activity
earlier in life may be important to reducing the risk of cognitive impairment in late life,” says Dr.
Laura Middleton, principal investigator of the study, and postdoctoral fellow at the Heart and
Stroke Foundation Centre for Stroke Recovery at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. “These
results not only confirm that promoting physical activity is among the most promising strategies in
the prevention of dementia in old age, but also stress that health promotion interventions
targeting people earlier in life may be particularly important.”
While teenage physical activity was most strongly associated with lower odds of late-life cognitive
impairment, those women who were inactive at teenage but became physically active in later life
had lowered risk of cognitive impairment than those who remained inactive.
The study analysis, published in the July issue of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society,
was presented recently at the American Association of Neurology conference in 2010 and the
Canadian Dementia Conference in 2009.
Physical activity reduces rates and severity of vascular risk factors, which are associated with increased risk of cognitive impairment.
The study examined over 9000 women (at four U.S. sites between 1986 and 1988) aged 65 years
or older who self reported physical activity levels during teenage years, age 30, age 50, and in
older age. The participants underwent a brief test of cognitive function that evaluates orientation,
concentration, praxis and memory (modified Mini-Mental State Exam) and were classified as
cognitively impaired based on low scores. Cognitive status was correlated according to patterns
of physical activity at each age.
The women who were physically active had significantly lower prevalence of cognitive impairment
in late life compared to women who were inactive at each time, as follows: Teenage: 8.5 versus
16.7 per cent; Age 30: 8.9 versus 12 per cent; Age 50: 8.5 versus 13.1 per cent; Old age: 8.2
versus 15.9 per cent.
Despite the large amount of research on physical activity in relation to cognition in old age,
relatively few have included physical activity measures prior to mid-life and none have measured
multiple time points. “There was reason to suggest that physical activity prior to mid-life may
benefit cognition in later life and this research shows that,” adds Dr. Middleton. “Youth who are
active have better cognitive and academic performance. We think it is possible that early-life
physical activity – similar to early-life education – could help to build ‘cognitive reserve’ that has
long-lasting benefits.”
The mechanisms by which physical activity across the life course is related to late life cognition
are likely to involve a number of factors, such as increased neuroplasticity and repair in the brain.
In addition, physical activity reduces rates and severity of vascular risk factors, such as
hypertension, obesity, and type II diabetes, which are each associated with increased risk of
cognitive impairment. In animals, physical activity has been reported to reduce the buildup of a
protein called amyloid, a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease. The prevalence of dementia is
expected to rise dramatically in upcoming decades, primarily due to increased longevity.
As the "Baby-Boomer" generation becomes the elderly generation, incidents of dementias such as Alzheimer's may double. To fight this trend, an important Canadian study explores the interplay between physical fitness and mental fitness in elderly women.
Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre is one of Canada’s largest and most dynamic hospitals. Our 10,000 staff, physicians and volunteers provide the best care for critical times in the lives of the 1 million patients we see each year.
About The Heart and Stroke Foundation Centre for Stroke Recovery:
The Heart and Stroke Foundation Centre for Stroke Recovery is a virtual organization, made up
of some of Canada’s foremost healthcare centres: Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre,
University of Ottawa and the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, and Baycrest Rotman Research
Institute. The organization was formed to allow experts in stroke, working in different locations, to
share knowledge and collaborate on research initiatives. This approach to stroke research has
proved a major success.
