TRUE solution sports and dementia
Correct! A high level of fitness can reduce the risk of dementia
A study with a 44-year follow-up confirms the statement that exercise can be effective against dementia. The study found out that a high cardiovascular fitness was associated with a lower risk of dementia. It could be seen that a high level of fitness
compared to a medium level of fitness reduces the risk of dementia by 88%
(1). Erickson et al. show in their study that the hippocampus shrinks in adulthood, which in turn leads to memory disorders and an increased risk of dementia. However, adults with a higher level of fitness have a larger hippocampus as well as a better blood flow to the hippocampus (2).
1. Hörder, H., Johansson, L., Guo, X., Grimby, G., Kern, S., Östling, S., & Skoog, I. (2018). Midlife cardiovascular fitness and dementia: A 44-year longitudinal population study in women. Neurology, 90(15), e1298–e1305.
2. Erickson, K. I., Voss, M. W., Prakash, R. S., Basak, C., Szabo, A., Chaddock, L., Kim, J. S., Heo, S., Alves, H., White, S. M., Wojcicki, T. R., Mailey, E., Vieira, V. J., Martin, S. A., Pence, B. D., Woods, J. A., McAuley, E., & Kramer, A. F. (2011). Exercise training increases size of hippocampus and improves memory. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 108(7), 3017–3022.