Lack of exercise, as much as genetic factors, may contribute to dementia

One of the biggest risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease is the apolipoprotein E (APOE) e4 gene. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, adults who possess one copy of the APOE e4 gene are three times more likely to develop the disease than those without the gene, while those with two copies are 8-12 times more likely to develop Alzheimer’s.

However, the researchers of the new study…suggest that the risk of dementia may be just as high for older adults exhibiting sedentary behavior.

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Among adults who did not carry the APOE e4 gene, the researchers found that those who did not exercise were more likely to develop dementia than those who exercised.

For APOE e4 gene carriers, however, there was no significant difference in dementia risk between those who exercised and those who did not.

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According to the researchers, these findings indicate that a lack of exercise may be just as risky for dementia development than carrying the APOE e4 gene.

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[However,] the study results also suggest that increasing physical activity may protect against the development of dementia in people without the APOE e4 gene.

The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion, and analysis. Read full, original post: Sedentary behavior raises dementia risk as much as genetic factors