How fast you walk could be a sign of dementia

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Walking slowly with age is always a warning sign of increasing weakness, which experts say can lead to falls and other disorders. Increasing research in small groups of older subjects has found that walking slowly each year may be an early sign of cognitive decline.

This may be due to shrinkage right hippocampusThis is the part of the brain that is associated with memory according to studies,

But not all symptoms of cognitive decline can be predicted later. Madness Only 10% to 20% of people 65 years of age and older with mild cognitive impairment or MCI will develop dementia within the next year. National Institute of Aging, “In many cases, MCI symptoms may remain the same or improve,” the company says.

Now, in a large, new study of 17,000 adults over the age of 65, people who walk about 5% slower or more each year are more likely to develop dementia if they show signs of slow mental processing. . study was published on tuesday In JAMA Network Open Magazine.

“These results underscore the importance of style in dementia risk assessment,” wrote Daya Collier, research fellow at Monash University’s Peninsular Medical School in Victoria, Australia.

The new study followed a group of Americans over 65 and Australians over 70 for seven years. Each year, study participants were asked to take cognitive tests that measure general cognitive decline, memory, processing speed, and fluency.

Twice a year, subjects were asked to walk 3 meters, or about 10 feet. Both results were averaged to determine the individual’s general style.

At the end of the study, researchers found that people at higher risk of dementia were not only “doubly less” or very lethargic, but also showed few signs of cognitive decline, Dr. Joe Varghese, professor of geriatrics and neuroscience. at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, New York, who was not included in the study.

“Furthermore, people with dual deficits have a higher risk of dementia than people with walking or cognitive impairments,” Varghese wrote in a Tuesday editorial in the journal JAMA.

Dual association between walking speed and memory loss predicts postpartum dementia, a Meta-analysis 2020 About 9,000 American adults have been diagnosed.

Despite these findings, Varghese wrote that “gait disturbances are not considered an early clinical feature in patients with Alzheimer’s disease.”

There are a few things we can do as we age to replace the contraction of the brain with normal aging. studies They have been found to increase aerobic exercise size of hippocampussome will gain weight Features of memory,

Deeply embedded in the temporal lobe of the brain, the hippocampus is a uniquely shaped organ responsible for learning, coordinating memories and spatial navigation such as the ability to remember directions, locations, and orientations.

Aerobic exercise increased the size of the right anterior hippocampus by 2%, reversing age-related limb loss over one to two years. 2011 Randomized Clinical Trials, In comparison, those who did only stretching exercises lost about 1.43% over the same period.

Aerobic exercise is a type of exercise that “airs” and increases heart rate and breathing, but you can’t perform tasks continuously. Types of aerobic exercise include brisk walking, swimming, running, biking, dancing and kickboxing at your local gym, as well as any cardio equipment such as a treadmill, elliptical trainer, rower or stair climber.