Physical Activity and Alzheimer’s Disease: A Systematic Review
Abstract
The current literature includes several studies investigating the association between physical activity and risk of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The aim of this review was to systematically evaluate available evidence on this association. Medline via PubMed and CINAHL databases were searched for original English language research articles assessing the relationship between physical activity and incident AD. The review was limited to prospective observational and intervention studies. Criteria for exclusion were studies focusing on individuals with dementia, cross-sectional study design, and case reports. The quality of included studies was assessed in 5 domains of bias. Twenty-four studies met the inclusion criteria. The number of participants ranged from 176 to 5,698. Follow-up time varied from 1 to 34 years. Physical activity was inversely associated with risk of AD in most studies (n = 18). Leisure-time physical activity was particularly protective against AD, but not work-related physical activity. The risk of bias assessment showed that overall quality of evidence was moderate for 16 and low for 8 studies. Beyond all the available general recommendations for health promotion, current evidence does not allow to draw specific practical recommendations concerning the types, frequency, intensity, or duration of physical activity that may be protective against AD.
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Physical activity appears to decrease risk of dementia.
“In contrast, physical activity appears to decrease risk. [119][120]0][121][122][123][124][125][126][127][128]”
From 2023 Alzheimer's disease facts and figures (2023) · cites this paper as [123]
Eating a heart-healthy diet and increasing physical activity could delay the onset of AD.
“Collectively, this suggests that eating a heart-healthy diet [172,173,174,175,176] and increasing physical activity [177,178,179,180] could delay the onset of AD.”
From Mitochondrial Oxidative and Nitrosative Stress and Alzheimer Disease (2020) · cites this paper as [177]
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- Authors
- Stephen, R., Hongisto, K., Solomon, A., & Lönnroos, E.
- Affiliations
- University of Eastern Finland (FI)
- Karolinska Institutet (SE)
- Venue
- The Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 2017-01-03
- Volume
- 72
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- glw251
- ISSN
- 1079-5006 (ISSN-L)
- 1758-535X
- OpenAlex
- W2564512120
- Cited by
- 262
- References
- 11
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2025: 24 · 2024: 22 · 2023: 32 · 2022: 49 · 2021: 40 · 2020: 35 · 2019: 26 · 2018: 23 · 2017: 6
- FWCI
- 3.74
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- The Journals of Gerontology Series A (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Kuopio University Hospital
- Academy of Finland (287490, 294061)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Research
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Physical Activity and Health
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Alzheimer's disease research and treatments
- Keywords
- physical activity, Alzheimer's disease, leisure-time physical activity, work-related physical activity, dementia risk, protective factors, exercise intervention, risk of bias
- MeSH terms
- Alzheimer Disease, Humans, Leisure Activities, Research Design, Exercise
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