Can Exercise Ward Off Parkinson's?

Robert W. Griffith, MD

Harvard researchers have found that people who are active or who exercise have a lower risk of developing Parkinson's disease. They obtained this information from 143,000 men and women in the Cancer Prevention Study. The participants were between 50 and 74 at baseline in 1992, and were followed up at intervals for 9 years. Answers to questionnaires gave the individual's time spent on light, moderate, or intense activity.

There were 413 cases of Parkinson's diagnosed during the follow-up period. After comparing the frequency if the different activity groups, and adjusting for age, gender, smoking, and other possible Parkinson's risk factors, it was found that participants taking moderate to vigorous exercise had a significantly reduced risk of Parkinson's disease - actually 60% of the risk of those with no, or only light, activity levels.

Of course, there's the possibility of a mysterious risk factor that influences the disease itself, and the drive to exercise - but that's stretching things a bit. Since moderate to vigorous exercise has many health benefits, add another one - a slightly reduced risk of developing Parkinson 's.

Source
HealthandAge Blog

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