Disease dementia or a decrease in memory and way of thinking was related to walking speed. This was revealed from a study published in the journal JAMA Network Open.
Collect CNNa new study found nearly 17,000 elderly over the age of 65 who walk five percent slower are more likely to develop dementia. “These results highlight the importance of gait in dementia risk assessment,” wrote Peninsula Clinical School researcher at Monash University in Victoria, Australia, Taya Collyer.
The new study followed a group of Americans over 65 and Australians over 70 over a seven year period. Each year, the people in the study were asked to take cognitive tests that measured overall cognitive decline, memory, processing speed and verbal fluency.
Twice each year, subjects were also asked to walk three meters, or about 10 feet. The two results are then averaged to determine the person’s typical gait.
Then at the end of the study, the researchers found that the risk of dementia was highest in people who not only walked more slowly but also showed some signs of cognitive decline. It was said by Dr. Joe Verghese, a professor of geriatrics and neurology, at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, New York.
“Furthermore, people with multiple impairments had a higher risk of dementia than those with gait or cognitive decline alone,” Verghese wrote in an editorial published in the journal JAMA.
The dual relationship between walking speed and memory decline is predictive of dementia later in life, a 2020 meta-analysis of nearly 9,000 American adults found.
However, despite the findings, “gait dysfunction has not been considered an early clinical feature in patients with Alzheimer’s disease,” writes Verghese.
“A slower gait with age may be a future symptom of dementia,” the study said.
Meanwhile, studies have found that aerobic exercise can increase the size of the hippocampus and improve several aspects of memory. Aerobic training can increase right anterior hippocampal volume by two percent, thereby restoring age-related organ loss by one to two years in a 2011 randomized clinical trial.
The types of aerobic exercise that can be done are brisk walking, swimming, running, cycling, dancing, and kickboxing. In addition, any cardio machines in the gym, such as treadmills, elliptical trainers, rowers, or stair climbers.
One of the main causes of death in the elderly
Citing the official site WHO, dementia is one of the seven leading causes of death and one of the leading causes of disability and dependence in the elderly globally. Dementia also has a physical, psychological, social and economic impact on the careers of sufferers and their families and surrounding communities.
WHO also mentions that more than 55 million people worldwide suffer from dementia and there are 10 million new cases every year. Dementia itself can come from various things such as disease and injury, especially in the brain.
Alzheimer’s is the most common form of dementia, accounting for 60-70 percent of cases. Although common in the elderly, dementia also does not rule out the possibility of attacking younger adults.
(lna/lth)
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