On 11 November, collaborators from Yonsei University College of Medicine, Republic of Korea published an article in the journal Alzheimer's Research & Therapy, suggested that weekly physical activity may help to prevent the conversion of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) to dementia. In the published study, authors used data from the national health insurance claims database established by the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) of Korea. They analysed data for 247,149 individuals who were enrolled between January 1, 2009, and December 31, 2015. Of the 247,149 individuals analysed, 23,015 individuals converted to dementia.
Authors reported that of these 23,015, 17,733 (77%) were diagnosed with dementia of the Alzheimer type. They investigated the association between the risk of developing in patients with MCI and the regularity of physical activity. Results showed that people who performed physical activity consistently had the lowest incidence of dementia of the Alzheimer type compared to the other. People with mild cognitive impairment who were engaged in vigorous or moderate physical activity (over 10 min more than one day per week) had a 18% reduced risk for developing dementia of the Alzheimer type compared to those who undertook irregularly physical activity. People with mild cognitive impairment who exercised three to five times per week had a 15% lower risk of developing Alzheimer's disease than those who exercised less than three times per week. In addition, those with mild cognitive impairment who started exercising after their diagnosis had an 11% lower risk of developing Alzheimer's disease than people who did not exercise at all. Scientists noted several limitations to their study including the fact that the evaluation of physical activity was based on self-reporting by the participants.
https://alzres.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13195-020-00707-1