Physical activity in teens insures women against mental ill-health
July 2nd, 2010 - 6:39 pm ICT by IANSToronto, July 2 (IANS) Women, who are physically active as a teenager or in mid and later life, face lower risk of cognitive impairment in late-life compared to those who are inactive, says a new study of over 9,000 women.
There is growing evidence to suggest that such people have lower chance of dementia and more minor forms of cognitive impairment in old age.
However, there is a poorer understanding of the importance of early life physical activity and the relative importance of physical activity at different ages.
Researchers led by Laura Middleton, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Canada, compared the physical activity at teenage, age 30, age 50, and late life against cognition of 9,344 women from Maryland, Minnesota, Oregon and Pennsylvania.
Of the participants, 15.5 percent, 29.7 percent, 28.1 percent and 21.1 percent respectively reported being physically inactive at teenage, at 30 years, at 50 years, and in late life.
The increase in cognitive impairment for those who were inactive was between 50 percent and 100 percent at each time point.
When physical activity measures for all four ages were entered into a single model and adjusted for variables such as age, education, marital status, diabetes, hypertension, depressive symptoms, smoking, and BMI, only teenage physical activity status remained significantly associated with cognitive performance in old age.
“Our study shows that women who are regularly physically active at any age have lower risk of cognitive impairment than those who are inactive but that being physically active at teenage is most important in preventing cognitive impairment,” said Middleton.
The researchers also found that women who were physically inactive at teenage but became physically active at age 30 and age 50 had significantly reduced odds of cognitive impairment relative to those who remained physically inactive.
Conversely, being physically active at age 30 and age 50 was not significantly associated with rates of cognitive impairment in those women who were already physically active at teenage, says a Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre release.
Middleton added: “As a result, to minimise the risk of dementia, physical activity should be encouraged from early life. Not to be without hope, people who were inactive at teenage can reduce their risk of cognitive impairment by becoming active in later life.”
These findings were published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.
- Teenage physical activity cuts risk of cognitive impairment in later life - Jun 30, 2010
- Obesity may be linked to dementia - Mar 07, 2011
- Tea, exercise and Vit-D cut dementia risk - Jul 12, 2010
- Hormone therapy use may increase or decrease dementia risk - Nov 19, 2010
- Clogged arteries can also cause clouded thinking - Jul 22, 2011
- Computer-exercise combo prevents memory loss - May 02, 2012
- Briskness of walk in middle-age foretells stroke risk - Feb 16, 2012
- Does air pollution erode mental sharpness? - Feb 14, 2012
- Walking at least 6 miles per week 'can reduce Alzheimer's risk' - Oct 14, 2010
- Men in noisy jobs likelier to suffer hearing problems, heart diseases - Feb 22, 2011
- People with thin brain structure 'at greater risk for Alzheimer's' - Apr 14, 2011
- It's official: Men have more memory problems than women - Sep 07, 2010
- How you can cut the risk of being affected by dementia - Feb 21, 2011
- Dementia linked to midlife weight crisis - May 03, 2011
- Spouses of dementia sufferers 'six times more likely to develop same condition' - May 05, 2010
Tags: age education, bmi, cognition, cognitive impairment, cognitive performance, dementia, depressive symptoms, health sciences centre, hypertension, laura middleton, marital status, mental ill health, odds, physical activity, relative importance, single model, sunnybrook health sciences, sunnybrook health sciences centre, time point, variables