More than six million people in the United States suffer from Alzheimer’s disease, and researchers at the University of Pittsburgh and Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) are discovering how lifestyle habits are related to the likelihood of developing the disease.
According to a New study published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s AssociationThe researchers found that greater sedentary behavior in older adults was associated with worse cognition and brain shrinkage in areas related to the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.
Marissa Gogniat, assistant professor of neurology at Pitt and former postdoctoral fellow at the Vanderbilt Memory and Alzheimer’s Center at VUMC, led the study, co-authored with Angela Jefferson, professor of neurology at Vanderbilt and founding director of the center.
“Reducing the risk of Alzheimer’s disease is not just about exercising once a day,” Gogniat said. “Minimizing time spent sitting, even with daily exercise, reduces the chance of developing Alzheimer’s disease.”
The team of researchers examined the relationship between sedentary behavior, or time spent sitting or lying down, and neurodegeneration among 404 adults aged 50 and older. Study participants wore a watch that measured their activity continuously over the course of a week. Their sedentary time was then compared to their cognitive performance and brain scans were captured over a seven-year follow-up period.
Participants who spent more time sedentary were more likely to experience cognitive decline and neurodegenerative changes, regardless of how much they exercised. These findings were strongest in participants who carried the APOE-e4 allele, a genetic risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease, suggesting that reducing sedentary time may be especially important for older adults who have a higher genetic risk for Alzheimer’s disease.
“It is critical to study lifestyle choices and the impact they have on brain health as we age,” Jefferson said. “Our study showed that reducing sitting time could be a promising strategy to prevent neurodegeneration and subsequent cognitive decline, particularly among older adults at higher genetic risk for Alzheimer’s disease. It is critical for our brain health to take breaks throughout the day and move to increase our active time.”
This study was supported by the Alzheimer’s Association and the National Institute on Aging.
