Exercise may ward off dementia

[corybroo]

Science Daily has an article Physically fit women nearly 90 percent less likely to develop dementia https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/03/180315101805.htm

 

Tests were done on Swedish women in 1968 the small (n=191) group followed for over 40 years.

 

For me, the most striking finding was this

 

Five percent of the highly fit women developed dementia, compared to 25 percent of moderately fit women and 32 percent of the women with low fitness. The highly fit women were 88 percent less likely to develop dementia than the moderately fit women.

Among the women who had to stop the exercise test due to problems, 45 percent developed dementia decades later.

 

The researchers do note that the women who had to stop the exercise test might have already had some underlying caridovascular issues.  Still the comparison of highly fit with moderately fit (5% vs 25%) is impressive.