Women aged 70 years and older who exercised regularly lower risk of cognitive impairment

Researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) and Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) have found that women aged 70 years and older who exercised regularly - including walking at an easy pace for at least 1.5 hours per week - appeared to have a lower risk of cognitive impairment than counterparts who were inactive.

Women who engaged in the most activity - for example, walking at least 6 hours per week - had a 20 percent decrease in risk of cognitive impairment compared to those who were inactive and, also demonstrated the cognitive functioning of someone three-years younger than their actual age. The findings are published in the September 22, 2004 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

“Walking is a popular, accessible and inexpensive activity for older adults that appears to provide many health benefits. In addition to studies showing a reduced risk of heart disease, pulmonary disease and diabetes, a moderate level of walking also appeared to reduce the rate of cognitive decline in our study,” said lead author Jennifer Weuve, ScD of HSPH. “What is most striking is that for older women who are able to engage in several hours per week of physical activity, their cognitive function seemed to be comparable to that of a woman several years younger.”

Weuve, senior author BWH’s Fran Grodstein, ScD and colleagues analyzed the data from 18,766 US women, aged 70 to 81 years from the Nurses’ Health Study. Women were assessed twice, two years apart on general cognition, verbal memory, category fluency and attention. The researchers found that women who were more active and participated in activities that ranged from walking at an easy pace to jogging, realized less cognitive decline than women who were not active. In addition, researchers found that the more active the individual, the better their cognitive performance and the less decline they seemed to have.

According to Weuve, “This is one of the first studies to explore the specific link between walking and cognitive function. The health benefits of walking are becoming well-established and should provide older people with additional evidence to help encourage them to engage in walking or another form of physical activity.”

Adults aged 65 years and older are the fastest growing population in the United States and are at a high risk for dementia. Monitoring cognitive functioning and reducing risk factors associated with dementia are imperative to slowing its development.

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