Medpage Today
July 15, 2010
HONOLULU — Unlike heart disease, which can potentially be prevented with moderate exercise, it’s more intense physical activity that may stave off dementia, researchers said here.
In an analysis of data from the Framingham Heart Study, patients who reported moderate to heavy physical activity had a significant 45% lower risk of all-cause dementia compared with light exercisers (P=0.003), according to Zaldy S. Tan, MD, of Harvard, and colleagues.
They reported their findings here at the International Conference on Alzheimer’s Disease.
But it’s “not necessarily only heavy physical activity that can reduce risk [of dementia],” Tan told MedPage Today. “But we can fairly say at least moderate exercise seems to be protective.” (Source)
