Being a Weekend Warrior Linked to Lower Dementia Risk

TOPLINE:

Weekend exercise, involving one or two sessions per week, is associated with a similar reduction in risk for mild dementia as that reported with more frequent exercise, a new study shows. Investigators say the findings suggest even limited physical activity may offer protective cognitive benefits.

METHODOLOGY:

• Researchers analyzed the data of 10,033 participants in the Mexico City Prospective Study who were aged 35 years or older.
• Physical activity patterns were categorized into four groups: No exercise, weekend warriors (one or two sessions per week), regularly active (three or more sessions per week), and a combined group.
• Cognitive function was assessed using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE).
• The analysis adjusted for confounders such as age, sex, education, income, blood pressure, smoking status, body mass index, civil status, sleep duration, diet, and alcohol intake.
• The mean follow-up duration was 16 years.

TAKEAWAY:

• When mild dementia was defined as an MMSE score ≤ 22, dementia prevalence was 26% in those who did not exercise, 14% in weekend warriors, and 18.5% in the regularly active group.
• When mild dementia was defined as an MMSE score ≤ 23, dementia prevalence was 30% in those who did not exercise, 20% in weekend warriors, and 22% in the regularly active group.
• Compared with people who did not exercise and after adjusting for confounding factors, risk for mild dementia was 13%-25% lower in weekend warriors, 11%-12% lower in the regular activity group, and 12%-16% lower in the two groups combined.
• The findings were consistent in men and women.

IN PRACTICE:

“To the best of our knowledge, this is the first prospective cohort study to show that the weekend warrior physical activity pattern and the regularly active physical activity pattern are associated with similar reductions in the risk of mild dementia. This study has important implications for policy and practice because the weekend warrior physical activity pattern may be a more convenient option for busy people around the world,” the authors wrote.

SOURCE:

The study was led by Gary O’Donovan, Faculty of Medicine, University of the Andes, Bogotá, Colombia. It was published online in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

LIMITATIONS:

The survey respondents may not have been truly representative of middle-aged adults. Further, there were no objective measures of physical activity. The observational nature of the study does not provide insights into causality.

DISCLOSURES:

The study was funded by the Mexican Health Ministry, the National Council of Science and Technology for Mexico, Wellcome, and the UK Medical Research Council. No conflicts of interest were disclosed.

This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.

A version of this article appeared on Medscape.com.