P slow walking with age is always was a warning sign of growing weakness, which could lead to falls and other injuriesexperts say.
New research in small groups of older people has also found that slower walking can be an early sign of cognitive decline.
This may be due to contraction of the right hippocampus, which is the part of the brain associated with memoryaccording to studies.
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But not all signs of cognitive decline predict later dementia – only 10% to 20% of people aged 65 or over with mild cognitive impairment develop dementia the following year, according to the National Institute on Aging. “In many cases, the symptoms of mild cognitive impairment may remain the same or even improve,” the institute said.
A new study of nearly 17,000 adults over the age of 65 found that People who walk about 5% slower or more with each passing year, while showing signs of slower mental processing, are more likely to develop dementia. The study was published in the journal JAMA Network Open.
“These results emphasize the importance of gait in assessing the risk of dementia.”writes author Taya Collier, a research fellow at Peninsula Clinical School at Monash University in Victoria, Australia.
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The new study followed a group of Americans over 65 and Australians over 70 for seven years. Every two years, people in the study were asked to take cognitive tests that measured overall cognitive decline, memory, processing speed, and verbal ability.
Twice each year, subjects were also asked to walk 3 meters. The two results were then averaged to determine the typical human gait.
At the end of the study, the researchers found that The highest risk of dementia is for people who not only walk slower, but also show some signs of cognitive decline.said Dr. Joe Vergese, a professor of geriatrics and neurology at Albert Einstein Medical College in the Bronx, New York, who was not involved in the study.
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The link between walking speed and memory impairment predicts later dementia, a 2020 meta-analysis of nearly 9,000 adult Americans found.
And yet despite these findings “Gait delay is not considered an early clinical feature in patients with Alzheimer’s disease”writes Vergese.
Exercise can help
There are things we can do to “reverse” the contraction of the brain that comes with typical aging. Studies have found that aerobic exercise increases the size of the hippocampus, increasing some aspects of memory.
Located deep in the temporal lobe of the brain, The hippocampus is a strangely shaped organ that is responsible for learning, consolidating memories, and spatial navigation.such as the ability to memorize directions, locations, and orientations.
Aerobic training increases the volume of the right anterior hippocampus by 2%.
Aerobic exercise is a type of exercise in which the heart rate and respiration increase. Types of aerobic exercise can include brisk walking, swimming, running, cycling, dancing and kickboxing, as well as cardio.
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