Higher levels of leisure-time physical activity in midlife are associated with a lower risk for cerebrovascular problems in later life, an analysis of data from a prospective cohort study suggests.
Persistently high levels of physical activity at midlife were associated with more intact white matter integrity and fewer lacunar strokes later in life, the authors report, although there was no such association with gray matter volumes. The results suggest that physical activity may affect cognition through effects on small-vessel disease, they add.
"Most prior studies have measured physical activity at one time point in older adulthood," Priya Palta, PhD, assistant professor of medicine and epidemiology at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York City, told Medscape Medical News. "Our study adds new knowledge, since it measured participant physical activity levels at multiple times in adulthood, which is important, given the changes in activity levels throughout one's life due to normal aging, work and retirement, and illness and injury."
The findings were published online January 6 in Neurology.
Research has indicated that moderate and high levels of physical activity during midlife are associated with lower levels of cognitive decline and a reduced risk for dementia. But randomized controlled trials that have investigated the benefits of exercise for brain health have produced mixed results, the authors note.
