Exercising Reduces Risk of Dementia

Two new studies involving tens of thousands of British men and women "found that, most of the time, people who ran and rode vigorously had larger brain volumes and lower risks for dementia than their less active peers," reports the New York Times. (Alternate URL here.)

The University of Arizona and University of Southern California published the first of the new studies in January. More than 500,000 British adults have their health and lifestyle records in the Biobank. Some of the participants wore activity monitors for a week to record their exercise habits. The researchers focused on people who wore a monitor, had a brain Scan, and were active, such as running, which meant they breathed heavily during their workouts. Air pollutants are drawn in by the heavier you breathe. The people 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 Using established air quality models, they estimated air pollution levels where the people lived and compared their brain scans. The link between vigorous exercise and brain health was expected. Men and women who lived and worked out in areas with little air pollution had large amounts of gray matter and low incidence of white matter. The more they exercised, the better their brains looked. When exercisers lived in areas with moderate air pollution, beneficial associations almost disappeared. The levels in this study were considered acceptable for health by both European and American air quality standards. Their gray matter volume was smaller than that of people living and exercising away from pollution. In a follow-up study published this month in Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, the same scientists repeated some of the findings from the first study. The more people exercised, the less likely they were to develop dementia over time. They had an increased risk of dementia when it was moderately polluted.

The Times also got this assessment of the studies from pollution researcher Pamela Lein, a professor of neurotoxicity at the University of California, Davis. "The observation that air pollution negates the well-established beneficial effects of exercise on brain health is alarming and increases the urgency for developing more-effective regulatory policies" related to air quality.