Cardiorespiratory fitness may positively
impact the structure of white matter in the brains of older adults. These
results suggest that exercise could be prescribed to lessen age-related
declines in brain structure.
The findings, which appear online in the Annals
of Clinical and Translational Neurology, are the first to show a
relationship between fitness and brain structure in older adults, but not
younger adults.
The researchers compared younger adults
(age 18-31) to older adults (age 55-82). All participants had MRIs taken of
their brains and their cardiorespiratory (heart and lung) fitness was measured
while they exercised on a treadmill. The researchers found cardiorespiratory
fitness was positively linked to the structural integrity of white matter fiber
bundles in the brain in the older adults, while no such association was
observed in younger adults.
"We found that higher levels of
cardiorespiratory fitness were associated with enhanced brain structure in
older adults," explained corresponding author Scott Hayes, PhD, assistant
professor of psychiatry at Boston University School of Medicine and the
associate director of the Neuroimaging Research for Veterans Center at the VA
Boston Healthcare System. "We found that physical activities that enhance
cardiorespiratory fitness, such as walking, are inexpensive, accessible and
could potentially improve quality of life by delaying cognitive decline and
prolonging independent function," he added.
According to the researchers these results
provide evidence of a positive association between fitness and brain structure
in older adults. "We hope this study provides additional motivation for
older adults to increase their levels of physical activity, which positively
impacts health, mood, cognition and the brain." They caution that
additional research is needed to track changes in fitness and brain structure
over time, as well as clarify the impact of specific exercise programs (such as
strength, aerobic or combined training) or dose of exercise (frequency,
intensity, duration) on white matter microstructure.
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