Higher fitness levels may significantly slow brain tissue decline in aging adults and help maintain long-term cognitive health, according to new research published in the Journal of Applied Physiology.
The study examined 172 sedentary yet healthy adults aged 22-81. Each participant underwent cardiorespiratory fitness testing, cognitive assessments and MRI brain scans. Researchers found that while aging was generally associated with smaller gray matter volumes and thinner cerebral cortex, study participants with higher lifelong fitness levels showed less of this age-related decline.
“Age-related brain atrophy is one of the significant risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias,” said senior author Rong Zhang, Ph.D., Professor of Neurology at UT Southwestern and an Investigator in the Peter O’Donnell Jr. Brain Institute. “This study suggests that engaging in activity to improve one’s physical fitness may reduce the risk of ADRD.”
The effect of lifelong physical activity was particularly notable when examining study participants’ right superior parietal region of the brain, which plays an important role in fluid cognitive function. Among those with higher fitness levels, aging presented less volume reduction in this region. Importantly, larger right superior parietal volume was linked to better cognitive abilities, including inductive reasoning, long-term memory, working memory and verbal fluency.
The weaker relationship between age and right superior parietal volume in participants with higher fitness levels was present in both men and women. This, the study authors note, may indicate that high levels of cardiorespiratory fitness may mitigate deterioration of brain volume and preserve cognitive function in both men and women.
With more than 6 million Americans currently living with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, and projections suggesting nearly 14 million may have Alzheimer’s by 2060, the research highlights a potential preventive approach, as concluded by Zhang, “The findings from this study support the hypothesis that engaging in lifelong physical activity to improve physical fitness may prevent or slow brain aging and ADRD.”
