How fast you walk can be a sign of dementia

But not all symptoms of cognitive decline can be predicted later Dementia – Only 10% to 20% of people 65 years of age with mild cognitive impairment or MCI will develop dementia next year. Aging National Institute. “In many cases, the symptoms of MCI may remain the same or improve,” the company says.
Now, in a large, new study of 17,000 adults over the age of 65, those who walk about 5% slower or more each year are more likely to develop dementia when they show signs of slow mental processing. The study was Released Tuesday In JAMA Network Open Magazine.

“These results underscore the importance of style in dementia risk assessment,” wrote Daya Collier, a research fellow at the Peninsular Medical School at Monash University in Victoria, Australia.

‘Double deniers’ are at greater risk

The new study followed a group of Americans over 65 and Australians over 70 for seven years. Each year, those in the study were asked to take cognitive tests that measure overall cognitive decline, memory, processing speed, and verbal fluency.

Twice each year, subjects were asked to walk 3 meters or about 10 feet. Both results were averaged to determine the person’s usual style.

At the end of the study, the researchers found that people with a higher risk of dementia were not only “double-reduced” or very sluggish, but also showed some signs of cognitive decline, said Dr. Joe Varghese, a professor of geriatrics and neurology. At the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, New York, Who is not involved in the study.

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“Furthermore, people with double deficits are at higher risk of developing dementia than those with gait or cognitive impairment,” Varghese wrote in an editorial in JAMA magazine on Tuesday.

Studies show that walking slowly as you get older may be a sign of future dementia.
The dual correlation between walking speed and memory loss predicts postpartum dementia, a 2020 meta analysis Nearly 9,000 American adults were found.

Despite those findings, Varghese wrote that “gait dysfunction is not considered an early clinical feature in patients with Alzheimer’s disease.”

Exercise can help

There are things we can do as we age to change the brain contractions that come with regular aging. Studies Have been found to increase aerobic exercise The size of the hippocampusSome will increase Features of memory.

The hippocampus, which is deeply embedded in the temporal lobe of the brain, is a uniquely shaped organ responsible for learning, coordinating memories, and spatial navigation, such as the ability to remember directions, locations, and orientations.

Studies show that exercise protects your brain despite the symptoms of dementia
Aerobic exercise increased the size of the right anterior hippocampus by 2%, thus reversing age-related loss of organs in one to two years. 2011 randomized clinical trial. In comparison, those who did only stretching exercises decreased by approximately 1.43% over the same period.

Aerobic exercise is a type of workout that means “air” and increases heart rate and respiration, but you can not function consistently. Types of aerobic exercise include brisk walking, swimming, running, biking, dancing and kickboxing, as well as all the cardio machines like treadmill, elliptical trainer, rover or stair climber at your local gym.

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