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Physical activity may improve cognitive function in older women with vascular disease
Larson E. Arch Intern Med. 2011;doi:10.1001/archinternmed.2011.273.
Vercambre M. Arch Intern Med. 2011;doi:10.1001/archinternmed.2011.282.
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The likelihood of cognitive decline significantly decreased in a cohort of older women with vascular disease with the performance of regular physical activity such as walking, according to a new study.
The analysis involved 2,809 women aged at least 65 years from the Women’s Antioxidant Cardiovascular Study, a cohort of women with prevalent vascular disease or no fewer than three coronary risk factors. Investigators determined recreational physical activity at baseline and every 2 years after and evaluated cognitive function by a telephone interview that included five tests of global cognition, verbal memory and category fluency.
They found that with increasing energy expenditure, decreasing rates of cognitive decline resulted (P<.001). Global cognitive decline was least prominent in women in the fourth (P=.04) and fifth (P<.001) quintiles of total energy expenditure, equivalent to walking 30 minutes or more every day at a brisk pace (3.5 mph). This benefit equated to the cognitive decline witnessed in women who were 5 to 7 years younger. Overall, regular walking was a strong predictor of slower rates of cognitive decline (P=.003).
The association with total physical activity was not restricted to women engaged in vigorous exercise, according to the researchers.
“If confirmed in future studies, physical activity recommendations could yield substantial public health benefits, given the growing number of older persons with vascular conditions and their high risk of cognitive impairment,” they said.
In an accompanying editorial, Eric B. Larson, MD, from the Group Health Research Institute, Seattle, said clinical research should now be increasingly directed to the development of effective ways to change behavior to promote habitual physical activity throughout life, but especially in middle and late life.
“Other areas in which better understanding through research might lead to actionable discoveries include the extent to which other vascular risk factors might reduce late-life cognitive decline and dementia risk, the relationship of known risk to newly discovered growth factors such as brain-derived neurotrophic factor, and the potential that widely dispensed anticholinergic drugs, an all too common ‘environmental’ exposure, might have more than transient effects on late-life cognition,” Larson wrote. “Most urgent of all for research is to develop and test programs that promote ongoing physical activity, especially in late life.”
Disclosure: Dr. Larson is supported by a grant from the National Institute of Aging.
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