More muscle power means lower Alzheimer's risk
Reuters Health, November 9th, 2009
Older people with stronger muscles are at reduced risk of developing
Alzheimer's disease compared to their weaker peers, a new study shows.
Dr. Patricia A. Boyle of Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center
in Chicago and her colleagues found that the greater a person's muscle
strength, the lower their likelihood of being diagnosed with Alzheimer's over a four-year period. The same was true for the loss of mental function that often precedes full-blown Alzheimer's.
Studies have linked grip strength
to Alzheimer's, while a person's weight and level of physical activity
also influence risk of the disease. To date, however, no one has
studied whether muscle strength in and of itself might play a role in
dementia risk, Boyle and her team note in November's Annals of Neurology.
"These findings support the link between physical health and cognition
in aging and the importance of maintaining good physical function and
strength," Boyle told Reuters Health via E-mail.
The researchers measured the strength of nine muscle groups in the arms
and legs of 970 dementia-free men and women 54 to 100 years old (their
average age was around 80). They also tested the strength of study
participants' breathing muscles.
During follow-up, which lasted about four years, 138 people developed
Alzheimer's. These individuals were older and had worse mental function
than the rest of the study participants. They also were weaker.
But even after the researchers adjusted for age and education
level-which can influence Alzheimer's risk-they found that muscle
strength had a strong influence on the risk of the disease. People who
ranked in the top 10 percent for muscle strength were 61 percent less
likely to develop Alzheimer's than the weakest 10 percent. Stronger
people also showed a slower decline in their mental abilities over time.
The relationship between muscle strength and mild mental difficulties,
which occurred in an additional 275 people, was similar, with the
strongest 10 percent being at 48 percent lower risk than the weakest 10
percent.
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