Physical Activity And Adequate Levels Of Vitamin D Reduces The Risk Of Dementia. Part 1 of 3

Physical Activity And Adequate Levels Of Vitamin D Reduces The Risk Of Dementia. Physical vim and adequate levels of vitamin D appear to compress the risk of cognitive decline and dementia, according to two large, long-term studies scheduled to be presented Sunday at the International Conference on Alzheimer’s Disease in Hawaii. In one study, researchers analyzed evidence from more than 1200 people in their 70s enrolled in the Framingham Study. The study, which has followed people in the town of Framingham, Mass, since 1948, tracked the participants for cardiovascular health and is now also tracking their cognitive health.

The palpable activity levels of the 1200 participants were assessed in 1986-1987. Over two decades of follow-up, 242 of the participants developed dementia, including 193 cases of Alzheimer’s. Those who did middling to heavy amounts of exercise had about a 40 percent reduced risk of developing any type of dementia. People with the lowest levels of physical activity were 45 percent more favoured to develop any type of dementia than those who did the most exercise.

These trends were strongest in men. “This is the first study to follow a large group of individuals for this long a period of time. It suggests that lowering the endanger for dementia may be one additional benefit of maintaining at least moderate physical activity, even into the eighth decade of life,” study author Dr Zaldy Tan, of Brigham and Women’s Hospital, VA Boston and Harvard Medical School, said in an Alzheimer’s Association info release.

The second study found a link between vitamin D deficiency and increased risk of cognitive lessening and dementia later in life. Researchers in the United Kingdom analyzed data from 3325 people aged 65 and older who took part in the third US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

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