Higher cardiovascular fitness may delay the onset of dementia by 9.5 years.
Higher cardiovascular fitness delays brain aging and the onset of dementia in women, a 2018 study showed. Women with high cardiovascular fitness levels experienced nearly a decade’s delay in dementia onset than those with moderate fitness levels.
The study involved 191 middle-aged women. Participants completed a cycling test to gauge their cardiovascular fitness and underwent regular neuropsychiatric testing to determine if they developed dementia during their lifetime.
Compared to women with moderate cardiovascular fitness levels, women with high cardiovascular fitness levels were 88 percent less likely to develop dementia. However, those with low fitness levels were 41 percent more likely to develop dementia. Higher fitness delayed the onset of dementia by 9.5 years compared to those with moderate fitness.
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Cardiovascular fitness is a measure of how well the heart, lungs, and blood vessels transport oxygen to the muscles during exercise. Exercise contributes to cardiovascular fitness because it exerts robust effects on the cardiovascular system, boosting heart rate, blood pressure, and cardiac output. Interestingly, sauna use exerts similar effects on the cardiovascular system. Learn more in our overview article.
These findings suggest that cardiovascular fitness protects against dementia in women. Learn more about the effects of cardiovascular fitness on brain health in this short video featuring Dr. Rhonda Patrick.