Objective: We aimed to test whether the minimal amount of exercise (MAE) of walking, which is practical for people with motor dysfunction, could help prevent dementia in Parkinson’s disease (PD).

Background: Physical activities, especially regular aerobic exercise, are effective for preventing dementia; however, such activity is less feasible in people with PD or other those with motor dysfunction.

Method: A retrospective longitudinal study was performed and a non-demented PD cohort of 470 people (283 [60.2%] non-converters and 187 [39.8%] converters) from three centers in Taiwan was analyzed with a mean follow-up of 2.4 (range 0.3–6.0) and 3.1 (range 0.3–6.1) years, respectively. MAE was defined as walking for approximately 1500-3000 steps or 15-30 minutes. Rate of weekly walking (0, 1-2, or ≥3) were defined as MAE-no, MAE-weekly, or MAE-daily, respectively.

Results: The incidence rates of dementia were summarized and compared. Cox proportional hazards analyses were used to study the influence of MAE on incident dementia. Age, sex, education, cognition, activities of daily living, neuropsychiatric symptoms, vascular risk factors and related medications were adjusted. Compared to the MAE-no group, the hazard ratios for the incidents of dementia were 0.69 (95% CI 0.41-1.17) and 0.59 (95% CI 0.41-0.84) in the MAE-weekly and MAE-daily groups, respectively. If we combined both groups, the HR is 0.61 (95% CI 0.45-0.85) compared to MAE-no group. In addition, older age, congestive heart failure, and antidiabetic drugs increased the incidence of dementia.

Conclusion: In conclusion, our study provided the evidence for MAE prevent dementia in people with PD. This finding shed light on the benefits of MAE for PD or possibilities of benefits for older people with motor dysfunction due to various disorders.

References: 1. Xu X, Fu Z, Le W. Exercise and Parkinson’s disease. Int Rev Neurobiol. 2019;147:45-74.
2. LaHue SC, Comella CL, Tanner CM. The best medicine? The influence of physical activity and inactivity on Parkinson’s disease. Mov Disord. 2016;31:1444-1454.
3. Dibble LE, Foreman KB, Addison O, Marcus RL, LaStayo PC. Exercise and medication effects on persons with Parkinson disease across the domains of disability: a randomized clinical trial. J Neurol Phys Ther. 2015;39:85-92.

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/walking-reduced-the-risk-of-parkinsons-disease-dementia-a-retrospective-longitudinal-follow-up-study/