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CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Int J Sports Med 2024; 45(09): 637-658
DOI: 10.1055/a-2307-8122
Review

Perimenopausal Physical Activity and Dementia Risk: A Systematic Review

Niall Simmons
1   Medicine, Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust, London, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
,
Miguel Rodriguez Ruiz
2   Medicine, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Oxford, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
,
Flaminia Ronca
3   Institute of Sport Exercise and Health, UCL, London, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
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Abstract

Mixed-gender studies predominate in the current literature exploring the interaction between physical activity and dementia risk. Considering that menopause appears to contribute to females’ increased risk of cognitive decline when compared to males, further clarity is required on the impact of physical activity in reducing late-life dementia risk, specifically in perimenopausal females. A literature search of MEDLINE, EMBASE, Web of Science, SCOPUS and CINAHL databases yielded fourteen studies for review. A significant inverse relationship between perimenopausal leisure time physical activity, or physical fitness, and future all-cause dementia risk was found in most studies exploring this interaction. Higher levels of perimenopausal household physical activity and combined non-leisure time physical activity also displayed a favorable impact in lowering dementia risk. A dose-response effect was demonstrated, with approximately 10 MET-hour/week of leisure time physical activity required for significant dementia risk reduction. Three of four papers exploring causality provided analyses proposed to counter the reverse causation argument, suggesting that physical activity may indeed have a protective role in reducing dementia risk post-menopause. The current systematic review provides promising results regarding the impact of pre- and perimenopausal physical activity on reducing late-life dementia risk, suggesting that promoting perimenopausal physical activity may serve as a crucial tool in mitigating the risk of post-menopausal cognitive decline.

Keywords

dementia - leisure time physical activity - non-leisure time physical activity - systematic review - perimenopause


Publication History

Received: 21 January 2024

Accepted: 16 April 2024

Accepted Manuscript online:
16 April 2024

Article published online:
02 August 2024

© 2024. The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial-License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

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