Easy tests to predict dementia and stroke risk
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120215185850.html
Easy tests such as hand grip strength and walking speed may help
doctors determine how likely a middle-aged person will suffer from
a stroke or develop dementia. Stronger hand grip strength was
associated with a 42 percent lower risk of stroke or transient
ischemic attack in people over 65. Faster walking speeds in middle
age was associated with one-and-a-half times lower risk of dementia.
More than 2,400 people with an average age of 62 were followed
for eleven years. The researchers studied cognitive function, walking
speed, and hand grip strength. The researchers found that
stronger hand grip strength was associated with larger total brain
volume and better ability to identify similarites among objects on cognitive
tests. Slower walking speed was associated with lower brain volume
and poorer performance on memory, language, and memory tests.
The results will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 64th
Annual Meeting in April and the study was supported by the National Heart,
Lung and Blood Institute's Framingham Heart Study, the National Institute of
Neurological Disorders and Stroke, and the National Institute on Aging.
The researchers were not able to explain why there is a correlation
between slower walking speeds and dementia or hand strength and
stroke. And there was no explanation why there was smaller brain volume and
poorer cognitive testing with slower walking speeds. Further research is
needed to find the reason or if there is some preclinical disease that could
cause slower walking and decreased strength. There wasn't a specific
amount of decrease in hand strength or walking speed that is considered
riskier. This study didn't recommend exercises to keep up hand strength
or recommend walking at a moderate speed throughout middle age. The
presentation at the Neurology meeting will most likely be very boring and
not really very informative.
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