Posted on 10/04/2022 8:57:28 PM PDT by ConservativeMind
Walking speed and grip strength could be early indicators of dementia before the onset of noticeable symptoms, a study reveals.
Researchers found slow walking speed combined with weak hand grip was a stronger predictor of cognitive decline and dementia in older adults than either measure alone.
The study of data from more than 18,000 initially healthy adults, mostly aged 70 and older in the ASPREE trial, revealed that a combined poor gait speed and grip strength was linked to a 79% increased risk of dementia and a 43% increased risk of cognitive decline.
Over time, the risk for dementia or cognitive decline was shown to be highest when gait and grip declined simultaneously over the study period of nearly 5 years, with an 89% increased risk of dementia and 55% increased risk of cognitive decline.
Dr. Suzanne Orchard said the research showed an important link between age-related cognitive and physical decline.
Dr. Orchard said simple grip strength and gait speed assessments could be adopted by GPs and other health care providers to help identify dementia risk early and establish treatment pathways to improve patient outcomes.
The study was conducted using data from the landmark ASPREE—ASPirin in Reducing Events in the Elderly—clinical trial. The multi-center trial, exploring low dose aspirin and disability-free survival in older adults, mostly aged over 70.
Participants' grip strength and gait speed were measured upon entry to ASPREE and repeated during an average of 4.7 years.
Gait speed was timed walking at normal pace over a distance of three meters, while grip strength was assessed using a hand-held device to measure force. Researchers then compared these physical benchmarks against participants' cognition, measured using assessments that examine functions such as memory and processing speed.
(Excerpt) Read more at medicalxpress.com ...
This does not have to be a strict downward path for us. Yes, we eventually die, but we can postpone that and greatly improve our health, when it otherwise seemed impossible.
Don’t give up until you have to. Live your life to glorify God.
“7 grams each of glycine and NAC”
Sounds like a lot.
My wife and I have been taking 1,800 mg of each for nearly three months, and are doing well.
Interesting, Nitro-Glycine is what they put in my treatment for poor blood circulation. I still have all these issues even with all this stuff....I am doomed.
My theory is still that we need to have “Scrubbing Bubbles” invented to keep the vascular system open.
“Gait and grip declined simultaneously.” Meaningless. My two family members with dementia for more than ten years have smooth gait and strong grips. FYI: Avoiding dementia includes avoiding large quantities of sodium.
Sodium, why is that?
My grandpa used to swear by Kentucky bourbon as Antifreeze for the blood but he got cancer from it but he was sharp as a tac to the day he died
“he was sharp as a tac to the day he died”
There are worse ways to go.
“My wife and I have been taking 1,800 mg of each for nearly three months, and are doing well.”
I am taking those doses as well (approximately), but did not have a problem with deficient grip strength or slow gait and have not noticed any differences. Still waiting for that waist size reduction...
Yes, 7,000 mg each sounds like way too much.
I still take NAC on my COVID regimen and haven’t had any respiratory infections in 2-1/2 years since starting. I’m taking 1,000 mg NAC daily.
“Gait speed was timed walking at normal pace over a distance of three meters,”
TEN feet? Unbelievably short.
My wife and I are pretty good hikers at 71 years. We hiked in Glacier National Park last week and passed almost everybody our age and passed a fair number of people in their 20s and 30s on a 8 mile hike, 800 feet elevation gain (in a one mile distance), and 4,000 feet elevation. We used to pass everybody, but still, I’m happy with what we can still do. So this study is heartening.
As an active golfer in a retirement community, it is easy to spot people suffering from physical and mental decline by the way they walk. I almost never get irritated by how slow they are because there but for the grace of God go I. Also, golfers, like me, with weak grips slice the ball. I have to remind myself to maintain a grip on the club.
lol
Did you get the last part from Dr. Oz or Dr. Mercola?
Bkmk
Voting for democrats is also another early indicator of dementia.
I don’t doubt the connection between gait and early decline, as I think we see it all the time.
But I think I’d be challenged to walk at my “standard” pace on command, so I’m not sure how accurately they measure it.
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