Poor physical function may be associated with an increased risk for dementia and Alzheimer's disease in elderly adults, according to a report from the Archives of Internal Medicine.
It’s common knowledge that physical performance and cognitive ability (thinking, learning and memory) tend to decline with age, often as a result of age-related diseases. This study, supported by a grant from the National Institute on Aging, shows how physical performance is linked to the development of dementia, or the intermediate stage known as cognitive impairment.
"Identifying signs associated with progression to dementia would assist in predicting the development of dementia and has important implications for interventions to slow the progression to these devastating illnesses," said the study authors in a new release from JAMA.
How the Dementia Study was Conducted
Researchers in Seattle studied 2,288 individuals age 65 years and older who did not have dementia at the beginning of the study. Between 1994 and 1996, participants underwent initial testing to determine their cognitive abilities, and performed physical tests that included walking for 10 feet, standing up from a sitting position, a standing balance assessment and measuring the grip strength in their dominant hand. Participants were reevaluated every other year through October 2003.
What the Dementia Study Revealed
- At the beginning of the study, participants with lower physical performance scores also had lower cognitive scores.
- During the six years of follow-up, 319 participants developed dementia, including 221 with Alzheimer's disease.
- Participants with higher physical performance scores were much less likely to develop dementia than those with scores of 10 or lower.
- Each one-point decrease on the physical performance scale was associated with an increased risk of dementia, Alzheimer's disease and a more rapid decline in cognitive performance scores, and factors such as age, gender, education, other mental and physical illnesses, or cognitive function at the beginning of the study did not effect the outcome.
"We observed that among participants without apparent cognitive impairment, those with gait slowing and poor balance were more likely to develop dementia, and among participants with possible mild cognitive impairment, those with poor handgrip were more likely to develop dementia," the authors said.
The study researchers encourage older adults to get exercise as a way of reducing your risk of getting dementia.
"If confirmed, this study might also help explain the association of physical exercise with a reduced risk of dementia, suggesting that exercise, by improving and maintaining physical function, might benefit cognitive function through a connection between the two."
Source: Arch Intern Med. 2006; 166: 1115-1120
