Physical fragility contributes to the development of dementia

Physical fragility could contribute to the development of dementia, according to a study of the University of Zhengzhou (China) that is published in Neurologythe Medical Magazine of the American Academy of Neurology.

Physical fragility is defined as have three or more of these five symptoms: Feeling often tired, little or no physical activity, slow walking speed, little grip strength and involuntary weight loss.

“We knew that fragility is associated with a higher risk of dementia, but our study provides evidence that it could be a real cause of dementia.”evidence the author of the study, the doctor Yacong bofrom the University of Zhengzhou. “On the other hand, despite this new evidence, we cannot rule out the possibility that fragility is an indicator of early changes in the disease process.”

The study included 489,573 people with an average age of 57 yearswho were carried out an average follow -up of 14 years. He 4.6% of the participants complied with the definition of fragility, presenting three or more symptoms. He 43.9% which presented one or two symptoms was classified as prefragility, and the 51.5% He did not present symptoms and classified as not fragile. During the study, 8,900 people developed dementia. He 4.6% of those who presented fragility developed, compared to the 2.2% of those who presented prefragility and the 1.3% of those who did not present it.

After adjusting Other factors that could affect the risk of dementiasuch as age, educational level and physical activity, researchers discovered that people who met the definition of fragility had almost three times more likely to develop dementia than those who did not have symptoms of fragility. Who classified as prefragility had a 50% more probabilities to develop dementia.

The people with fragility who also had genes linked to dementia had almost four times more likely to develop dementia than those without fragility or genetic risk.

The researchers also analyzed the data and found evidence that suggests that fragility could be a potential factor in the development of dementia. “These findings reinforce the importance of identifying and managing fragility as a strategy to prevent dementia”the researchers highlight.

When analyzing the data from the other address, the researchers discovered that It is unlikely that dementia will increase the risk of fragility. In addition, the researchers also analyzed brain and biomarker images and discovered that people with fragility were more likely to have changes in the brain structure related to dementia. “These biomarkers can be a mechanism underlying the road that goes from fragility to dementia”points bo.

A limitation of the study was that Participants reported four of the five symptoms of fragilityso it is possible that they have not provided precise information.