Exercise associated with reduced risk of Alzheimer’s disease: Study

A panel of UBC Okanagan researchers have confirmed that regular physical activity may improve the performance of daily activities for people living with Alzheimer’s disease.

“As there is no current cure for Alzheimer’s, there is an urgent need for interventions to reduce the risk of developing it and to help manage the symptoms,” says study first author Kathleen Martin Ginis, professor in UBC Okanagan’s School of Health and Exercise Sciences.

“After evaluating all the research available, our panel agrees that physical activity is a practical, economical and accessible intervention for both the prevention and management of Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias.”

A news release says Martin Ginis and her group looked at data from more than 150 research articles about the the impact of exercise on people with Alzheimer’s.

Some of the work explored how exercise improves a patient’s quality of life, and others examined the risk of developing Alzheimer’s based on the amount of activity an individual participated in.

The team concluded that older adults not diagnosed with Alzheimer’s who are physically active were significantly less likely to develop the disease compared to those who were inactive

They concluded that regular physical activity improves mobility, daily activities, balance, and general cognition.

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia that slowly causes impairment in memory and cognitive function. According to Statistics Canada, the number of worldwide cases is expected to increase from 30.8 million in 2010 to more than 106 million in 2050.