Does intensive sports promote the development of dementia?

How does sport affect the development of dementia??

For a long time it has been said that increased activity and exercise can protect against dementia and slow its development. However, researchers have now found that moderate to intense exercise training does not help patients with dementia, but may even aggravate the condition.

Scientists at the internationally acclaimed University of Oxford have found in their current research that moderate to intense physical activity can not protect against dementia. It is even possible that the illness is intensified by the activities. The physicians published the results of their study in the English-language journal British Medical Journal (BMJ).

Light physical activity is good for people with dementia. In contrast, intense physical activity can lead to a worsening of the disease. (Image: Mediteraneo / fotolia.com)

Moderate to intense training can increase dementia

Regular exercise and an active life should help to prevent or delay dementia. There have already been some smaller studies that have found such a connection. "If dementia has already developed, physical activity and exercise can not slow down their progression," the experts write in the study report. "Moderate to intensive training does not help people with dementia and can make the condition even worse," says the basic tenor. The physicians found out in their recent research that exercise does not help to slow the progress of the disease.

Results were no surprise

"The results were disappointing, but not a real surprise," says study author Professor Sarah Lamb of the Nuffield Department of Orthopedics Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Sciences at Oxford University. "Dementia is a very difficult problem to solve," adds the expert.

Study had nearly 500 participants

Almost 500 dementia patients participated in the current study. Of these, 329 subjects were assigned to physical fitness training. 165 patients received the usual treatment for the disease. The participants, who exercised physically over a period of four months, performed two training sessions per week, each lasting 60 to 90 minutes, explain the physicians. The exercises included cycling and the use of dumbbells and lead belts. Subjects were also asked to do another hour of sports a week at home.

Sport did not slow the disease down

The results showed that those who performed the training program had worse cognitive values ​​than those who did not train. Although the training made the participants physically fitter, but the sport has not slowed the progress of the disease.

Easy training is beneficial

"However, the results should not discourage people with dementia from going for walks, swimming, or performing other light sports activities," explains Professor Lamb. Diseased people should not lose hope now. In addition, light training is quite advantageous. "So sufferers should not stop such activities," the researchers say. The study used special exercise programs.

The results are very important

The results are hugely important for people with dementia and the NHS. The search for effective lifestyle interventions that can delay cognitive decline in dementia must continue, experts say. The observed deterioration of the cognitive functions is also very important. Although this was only a tiny deterioration of cognitive performance, which would have been imperceptible in a single patient, they differed statistically significantly.

People with lower incomes have an increased risk of dementia

A second study found that people on lower incomes have a higher risk of dementia compared to wealthy people. The results of this study were published in the journal "JAMA Psychiatry". For this study, researchers from University College London studied data from 6,000 adults born between 1902 and 1943. They found that the 20 percent of the most financially disadvantaged participants were 50 percent more likely to suffer from dementia, compared to the 20 percent of the most affluent subjects.

The study confirms that the risk of dementia in wealthy older people is reduced compared to people who have less economic resources available, explains study author Professor Andrew Steptoe of University College London. Many factors could be involved in the outcome. Differences in a healthy lifestyle and medical risk factors are relevant. It may also be that better-off people have greater social and cultural opportunities that allow them to stay in contact with the world. (As)