Better physical fitness and lower aortic stiffness key to slower brain aging

  • A study found that physical fitness & arterial stiffness accounted for a third of the cognitive differences between older adults, completely erasing age as a factor.

An Australian study involving 102 older adults (60-90) has concluded that physical fitness and arterial stiffness account for a great deal of age-related memory decline.

The study that, while both physical fitness and aortic stiffness were associated with spatial working memory performance, the two factors affected cognition independently. More importantly, and surprisingly, statistical modelling found that, taking BMI and gender into account, fitness and aortic stiffness together explained a third (33%) of the individual differences in spatial working memory — with age no longer predicting any of the differences.

While physical fitness didn’t seem to affect central arterial stiffness, the researchers point out that only current fitness was assessed and long term fitness might be a better predictor of central arterial stiffness.

It's also worth noting that only one cognitive measure was used. However, this particular measure should be a good one for assessing cognition untainted by the benefits of experience — a purer measure of the ability to process information, as it were.

It would also be interesting to extend the comparison to younger adults. I hope future research will explore these aspects.

Nevertheless, the idea that age-related cognitive decline might be largely, or even entirely, accounted for by one's physical fitness and the state of one's arteries, is an immensely appealing one.

Fitness was assessed with the Six-Minute Walk test which involved participants walking back and forth between two markers placed 10 metres apart for six minutes. Only participants who completed the full six minutes were included in the analysis.

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-06/ip-bpf061118.php

Reference: 

Related News

A study involving 2,050 people aged 70 to 89 has found that mild cognitive impairment was 1.5 times more common in men than women.

Reports on cognitive decline with age have, over the years, come out with two general findings: older adults do significantly worse than younger adults; older adults are just as good as younger adults.

A pilot study involving six patients with mild Alzheimer’s has shown using Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) is safe and may help improve memory, or at least slow decline. Patients received continuous stimulation for 12 months, between 2005 and 2008.

Following on from indications that gum disease might be a risk factor for dementia, analysis of data from 152 subjects in the Danish Glostrop Aging Study has revealed that periodontal inflammation at age 70 was strongly associated with lower cognitive scores (on the Digit Symbol Test).

A two-year study involving 271 older adults (70+) with mild cognitive impairment has found that the rate of brain atrophy in those taking folic acid (0.8 mg/d), vitamin B12 (0.5 mg/d) and vitamin B6 (20 mg/d), was significantly slower than in those taking a placebo, with those taking the supplem

A number of studies have found evidence that fruits and vegetables help fight age-related cognitive decline, and this has been thought to be due to their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects.

I have often spoken of the mantra: What’s good for your heart is good for your brain.

A number of studies have found that source memory (knowing where you heard/read/experienced something) is a particular problem for older adults. Destination memory (knowing who you’ve told) is an area that has been much less studied.

On the subject of the benefits of walking for seniors, it’s intriguing to note a recent pilot study that found frail seniors who walked slowly (no faster than one meter per second) benefited from a brain fitness program known as Mindfit.

A study involving 65 older adults (59-80), who were very sedentary before the study (reporting less than two episodes of physical activity lasting 30 minutes or more in the previous six months), has found that those who joined a walking group improved their cognitive performance and the connecti

Pages

Subscribe to Latest newsSubscribe to Latest newsSubscribe to Latest health newsSubscribe to Latest news
Error | About memory

Error

The website encountered an unexpected error. Please try again later.