title: Walking and dementia in physically capable elderly men.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Evidence suggests that physical activity may be related to the clinical expression of dementia. Whether the association includes low-intensity activity such as walking is not known.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To examine the association between walking and future risk of dementia in older men.
  
  
  METHODS
  Prospective cohort study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Distance walked per day was assessed from 1991 to 1993 in 2257 physically capable men aged 71 to 93 years in the Honolulu-Asia Aging Study. Follow-up for incident dementia was based on neurological assessment at 2 repeat examinations (1994-1996 and 1997-1999).
  
  
  METHODS
  Overall dementia, Alzheimer disease, and vascular dementia.
  
  
  RESULTS
  During the course of follow-up, 158 cases of dementia were identified (15.6/1000 person-years). After adjusting for age, men who walked the least (<0.25 mile/d) experienced a 1.8-fold excess risk of dementia compared with those who walked more than 2 mile/d (17.8 vs 10.3/1000 person-years; relative hazard [RH], 1.77; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.04-3.01). Compared with men who walked the most (>2 mile/d), an excess risk of dementia was also observed in those who walked 0.25 to 1 mile/d (17.6 vs 10.3/1000 person-years; RH, 1.71; 95% CI, 1.02-2.86). These associations persisted after accounting for other factors, including the possibility that limited amounts of walking could be the result of a decline in physical function due to preclinical dementia.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Findings suggest that walking is associated with a reduced risk of dementia. Promoting active lifestyles in physically capable men could help late-life cognitive function.
authors.affiliation: Division of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, University of Virginia School of Medicine, Charlottesville, USA. rda3e@virginia.edu
authors.forename: Robert D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Abbott
authors.forename: Lon R
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: White
authors.forename: G Webster
authors.initials: GW
authors.lastname: Ross
authors.forename: Kamal H
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Masaki
authors.forename: J David
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Curb
authors.forename: Helen
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Petrovitch
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003704:Dementia / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style; D008297:Male; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012306:Risk; D016138:Walking