Cardiovascular fitness and dementia

Nearly 200 middleaged Swedish women had their cardiovascular fitness measured by a cycling test in 1968.

They’ve been followed up ever since, with neuropsychiatric examinations on seven occasions.

Women with the highest level of fitness were strikingly less likely to develop dementia at an older age than women in the medium or low fitness groups. High fitness delayed age at dementia onset by 9.5 years, and time to dementia onset by five years compared with medium fitness.

Wow!