Doctors Advise: Moderate Exercise in Midlife Prevents Brain Damage

Higher levels of leisure time physical activity in midlife was associated with less late-life brain damage on MRI, a prospective study suggested.

Compared with no moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity in midlife, high levels were associated lower odds of lacunar infarct in late life (OR 0.68, 95% CI 0.46-0.99) and more intact white matter integrity, reported Priya Palta, PhD, of Columbia University Irving Medical Center in New York City, and colleagues in Neurology.

"Our study suggests that getting at least an hour and 15 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity a week or more during midlife may be important throughout your lifetime for promoting brain health and preserving the actual structure of your brain," Palta said in a statement. "In particular, engaging in more than two and a half hours of physical activity per week in middle age was associated with fewer signs of brain disease."

The study included 1,604 participants from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) cohort with a mean baseline age of 54.