Scientists Found an Association between Physical Activity in Midlife and Alzheimer’s

A recent study by Spanish scientists has observed that there has been an association between physical activity levels in middle age and Alzheimer’s disease risk. But the idea immediately does not seem highly revealing, as in many earlier studies, links were established between several diseases and physical activities. These include even Alzheimer’s disease and many mental health problems like dementia. The new study is important because it has pinpointed that increased physical activity levels during middle age are associated with reduced amounts of Alzheimer’s disease. This is known to have been published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia, a journal of the Alzheimer’s Association.

Why does it happen in this way, as found in the new study?
The scientists have found that increasing activity levels during middle age, that is, ages 45 to 65, are associated with lower concentrations of the protein beta-amyloid in the brain. This element is a known biomarker for Alzheimer’s disease in the brain.

Why were middle age chosen?
Experts like Eider Arenaza Urquizo, assistant researcher professor at the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (IS Global) and member of this research team of reportedly told Medical News Today, “Midlife is a critical period during which Alzheimer’s disease pathologies begin to accumulate in the brain”. She also told, “Over the last decade, research has shown that Alzheimer's-related changes can occur silently for up to two decades before any clinical symptoms appear. This represents a crucial window of opportunity for prevention and early intervention”. Arenaza-Urquizo added that many modified risk factors began to exert their influence during that stage of life. br>
Research methodology
The researchers collected 337 participants of the ALFA+ longitudinal cohort. This is a part of the ALFA (Alzheimer’s and Families) study. The participants were between the ages of 45 and 65. The participants were asked to record their physical activity via questionnaires at baseline and at their follow-up visit. The purpose was to look for correlations between participants’ exercise levels and Alzheimer’s-related pathologies in their brains. The participants were classified into five different groups based on their adherence to the WHO’s recommended activity levels, that is, whether they followed the WHO’s guidelines, or followed at the beginning but later did not follow, or at the beginning did not follow but followed later, or remained sedentary.

Result of the study
Researchers found that participants who had increased their physical activity to meet WHO-recommended levels, had lower amounts of protein beta-amyloid in the brain than those who remained sedentary or reduced their physical activity.