To Your Health
January, 2025 (Vol. 19, Issue 01) |
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Fit to Age Well
By Editorial Staff
Dementia is different from age-related cognitive decline; it's a specific type of decline that is more severe / pervasive, impacting a person's ability to perform daily tasks. While neither is something people look forward to as they age, avoiding dementia is a public-health priority because of the consequences.
One way to reduce dementia risk: cardiovascular fitness, a hot topic in this issue because of its broad-based health benefits. Cardio fitness in middle age and older is associated with better cognitive function and a lower dementia risk over time, suggests research published in the
British Journal of Sports Medicine.
Researchers analyzed up to 12 years of data from 60,000+ adults (ages 39-70 at baseline), all of whom were dementia free at the start of the study. Peak cardiovascular fitness was associated with a significantly lower long-term risk of dementia (40% lower risk) compared to low cardio fitness. What's more, in people who eventually did develop dementia, cardio fitness delayed onset by 1.5 years. And last, but certainly not least, even people with a genetic disposition to Alzheimer's disease – the most common form of dementia – had a 35% lower risk of developing it if they were at peak levels of cardiovascular fitness.
Brain health is just as important as physical health when it comes to longevity. Fortunately, as this study suggests, staying cardio fit can help. Talk to your doctor about other ways to optimize brain health with age.
