Diabetic patients who exercise regularly have a lower risk of dementia.
On the 27th, a joint research team led by Professor Jung-eun Yoo of the Department of Family Medicine at Seoul National University Hospital Gangnam Center and Professor Ga-eun Nam of Korea University Guro Hospital analyzed the effects of regular physical activity on the occurrence of dementia in diabetic patients and announced on the 27th that these results were obtained.
The research team analyzed the association between the occurrence of dementia and physical activity among 133,751 patients who were first diagnosed with diabetes during a national health checkup from 2009 to 2012. Among the survey subjects, 3,240 patients had actually developed dementia by 2017.
The research team defined ‘physical activity’ as ‘physical activity’ when at least 5 times of moderate-intensity exercise for 30 minutes or more per week or 3 times or more of high-intensity exercise for 20 minutes or more per week, and the change was confirmed twice every two years.
As a result, it was found that patients who engaged in regular physical activity had an 18% reduction in overall dementia risk. Alzheimer’s disease decreased by 15% and vascular dementia by 22%. If you were physically active, the range increased. Patients who maintained regular physical activity for 2 years reduced their overall dementia risk by 27% and Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia by 26% and 38%, respectively. Diabetic patients who lack physical activity also had a 14% lower risk of dementia if they started regular physical activity within 2 years compared to those who did not.
The researchers estimated that regular exercise improved blood sugar and insulin resistance in diabetic patients, lowered cardiovascular disease risk factors, and consequently reduced the risk of dementia.
Professor Yoo said, “The brain neurological changes in diabetic patients start from the early stage of diabetes, and lifestyle induction is most effective immediately following diagnosis, so regular exercise should be emphasized from the time of diagnosis of diabetes.”
This study was published in the latest issue of ‘Diabetes Care’, the official journal of the American Diabetes Association.
