The first steps towards reducing the risk of cognitive decline associated with aging could be as simple as going for regular walks, according to new research.
Multiple studies have shown that regular physical activity can be beneficial as part of an overall healthy lifestyle, and new research shared with Global News shows that it can also help reduce the risk of cognitive decline associated with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.
“Higher amounts of self-reported walking were associated with protection against declines in global thinking as well as in that executive function in both males and females,” says neuroscience, brain health and exercise researcher Dr. Cindy Barha at the University of Calgary, who was part of the research.
“So if you had a greater risk, physical activity, walking seems to be even more beneficial, like really important to be doing.”
Barha’s team will be presenting the findings of the study at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference on Tuesday.
The study involved roughly 3,000 participants over a 10-year period, with ages ranging from 70 to 79, who reported their daily walking routines to researchers.
Those participants, who started the study with no cognitive impairments, were tested every few years to gauge their cognitive functions and speed, with positive results.
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“Engaging in habitual physical activity may mitigate these (cognitive decline) effects by preserving global cognition and executive function in older age,” the study’s report says.
“This highlights the importance of investigating lifestyle factors, such as habitual walking, as potential intervention strategies to slow or prevent cognitive decline, especially in populations at higher genetic risk for Alzheimer’s disease.”
Participants also had genetic traits specifically related to dementia and cognitive decline, including types of genes that are associated with a higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s as well as those that offer greater protection.
Participants with different genetic traits had varying results when performing the tests, but overall, physical activity was shown to help slow the decline in those at higher risk.
Exercise was shown to add an additional benefit for those with genes that already offered protection from cognitive decline associated with aging.
Female participants also showed a greater benefit from regular exercise in most cases compared with their male counterparts.
Barha says that because females statistically are at greater risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, they got a greater benefit from exercise than males, which is reflected in their cognitive scores.
“Females that have the APOE e4 version are even at a greater risk of Alzheimer’s disease compared to men with the same gene, and higher amounts of self-reported walking were associated with protection against declines in global thinking as well as in that executive functions in both males and females, if they are an APOE-4 carrier,” Barha says.
“You should always exercise whether you’re a female or male, but it may be more beneficial if you’re at a greater risk genetically — women benefit a bit more.”
Barha says a baseline level of walking for the study was 15 minutes per day, and that further studies could get more detailed, including varying levels of intensity, biological and geographical differences, as well as more controlled levels of exercise versus self-reported activity.
“The next steps would be to look at an intervention trial where we are targeting older adults that have these risks, that have this type of genetic risk factor and intervening different types of exercises to start to get at that personalization, that what is the optimal dose, the optimal type for preventing cognitive decline,” Barha says.
“If you’re at a risk for all Alzheimer’s disease, in our case, we were looking at females, which is a risk factor, APOE4, which is risk factor. Exercise is more important, is important for everyone, but even more so for you.”
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