‘Weekend’ exercise may reduce risk of cognitive decline, study shows – UPI.com

Researchers have noted that this strategy could be an easy way for people with busy schedules to stay healthy. They also say it is important to identify modifiable risk factors for dementia early because delaying the onset by five years can halve the incidence.

“My colleagues and I have done large studies in Mexico and the United Kingdom that suggest that being a ‘weekend warrior’ reduces the risk of death,” said the study’s lead researcher, Gary O’Donovan, told UPI.

“We did this study because we wanted to investigate whether being a weekend warrior also provides mental health benefits,” said O’Donovan, an adjunct professor at the Universidad de los Andes in Bogotá. , Colombia.

He said this research “is good news for busy people all over the world. Lack of time is a big obstacle to physical activity.”

As far as the researchers know, it is the first study of its kind to reveal that the exercise patterns of weekend warriors and regular active people are associated with a similar reduction in the risk of mild dementia.

They relied on survey data from the Mexico City Prospective Study to analyze responses from 10,033 people who were about 51 years old at the start of the job.

A total of 7,945 respondents said they do not exercise at all; The 726 meets the definition of a weekend warrior; 1,362 reported exercising several times a week; and 2,088 made up the combined group.

During 16 years of monitoring, the researchers found 2,400 cases of mild dementia. The prevalence was 26% among non-exercisers, 14% among weekend warriors and 18.5% among regular exercisers.

After considering other possible variables such as age, educational attainment, smoking, nighttime sleep, diet and alcohol consumption, the researchers calculated the risks of having ‘dementia’ less for each category.

Compared to non-exercisers, the risk was 25% lower for weekend warriors and 11% lower for regular exercisers. Risks were 16% lower in the combined group.

If all middle-aged adults exercised at least once or twice a week, it would be possible to avoid 13% of dementia cases, researchers estimate.

Researchers suspect that the apparent protective effect of exercise on brain health may be due to an increase in the release of neurotransmitters in the brain – molecules that support the growth and survival of neurons – and brain plasticity. .

They also noted a link between exercise and greater brain volume, executive function and memory.

Other experts praised the researchers for their enlightening findings.

“Every time you exercise and increase your blood flow, even if you’re a weekend warrior, it causes the removal of amyloid from the brain, which causes Alzheimer’s disease. [disease]”said Dr. Rudy Tanzi, director of the Genetics and Aging Research Unit at Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston.

Tanzi, who was not involved in the study, described amyloid as “a sticky, toxic substance that accumulates on the outside of nerve cells, beginning decades before the symptoms of Alzheimer’s.”

Exercise also stimulates “the birth of new nerve cells in the brain, especially in the area most vulnerable to Alzheimer’s disease — the hippocampus,” he said.

Brittney Lange-Maia, an epidemiologist and assistant professor at the Rush Alzheimer’s Center in Chicago, said “there is currently no cure for dementia, so identifying risk factors and creating strategies to prevent this disease are important.”

He said “this study adds to the growing body of literature showing that midlife is important for later health, and that ‘a measure’ of physical activity is associated with a lower risk of dementia.” possible for many people to think about increasing their lifestyle.

Dr. John Absher, a neurologist at Prisma Health in Greenville, SC, said he would encourage people to commit to playing a sport or some form of exercise at least once or twice a week.

“If you do this regularly, you may feel more motivated to pursue a regular and regular exercise routine” and reap the benefits of brain health, Absher said.