HHS HealthBeat (July 8, 2010)

Muscling away Alzheimer’s

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

A study indicates people who are stronger physically have a lower risk of getting Alzheimer’s disease.  Patricia Boyle of Rush University Medical Center in Chicago saw that in data on 970 older people:

[Patricia Boyle speaks] ``Just a one unit change – which is a relatively small change – in muscle strength at baseline was associated with a more than 40 percent decrease in the risk of someone developing Alzheimer’s disease over about a four year follow-up period.’’

The difference was even greater for mild cognitive impairment, which is a slight decrease in thinking ability that can signal Alzheimer’s is coming.

Boyle says it is not clear yet how muscle strength affects Alzheimer’s, but she says data increasingly suggest a stronger body and a stronger mind go together.

The study in Archives of Neurology was supported by the National Institutes of Health.

Learn more at hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I’m Ira Dreyfuss.

Last revised: November 21, 2011