Women’s dementia risk down 90% if they’re fit

STAYING fit in middle age could slash a woman’s risk of dementia by almost 90%, a study has found.

And for those who are diagnosed, having a good level of fitness could have delayed the illness by 11 years, scientists said.

Researchers from the University of Gothenburg followed 191 women over 44 years.

The women first took a spinning class to determine their fitness.

Four decades later, the women who were very fit were found to be 88% less likely to get dementia than those of medium fitness. If they were diagnosed, it was at an average age of 90, compared to 79 for the medium-fitness group. Experts say the very fit women would be regarded as being of average fitness now, in a time when people exercise more.

It is believed keeping fit reduces the odds of having high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes, which have all been linked to Alzheimer’s and similar forms of dementia.

Exercising may even be more important than keeping slim, as the fittest group often had the same BMI as those of medium fitness, the study in the journal Neurology found.

Dementia affects one-in-six people over the age of 80, with an estimated 55,000 sufferers in Ireland. Lead author Dr Helena Horder said: ‘These findings are exciting because it’s possible that improving people’s cardiovascular fitness in middle age could delay, or even prevent, them from developing dementia. However, this study does not show cause and effect between cardiovascular fitness and dementia – it only shows an association.’

Responding to the study, published in the journal Neurology, Dr David Reynolds, chief scientific officer at Alzheimer’s Research UK, said: ‘This study has highlighted how fitness in mid-life can help predict dementia risk years later.

‘While studies like this can’t definitively show cause and effect, it adds to the research suggesting that middle age is a key time for people to take steps to promote their brain health.’