Older Adult Sedentary Time Linked To Higher Dementia Risk
Adults age 60 and older who spend more time engaging in sedentary behaviors, such as sitting while watching TV or driving, may be at increased risk for developing dementia, finds a new study by University of Arizona and University of Southern California researchers.
"We were surprised to find that the risk of dementia begins to rapidly increase after 10 hours spent sedentary each day, regardless of how the sedentary time was accumulated," said study co-author Gene Alexander, a UArizona professor of psychology and psychiatry and a professor in the university's Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute and BIO5 Institute. "This suggests that it is the total time spent sedentary that drove the relationship between sedentary behavior and dementia risk. But, importantly, lower levels of sedentary behavior, up to around 10 hours, were not associated with increased risk."
To see UANews's coverage on how the study was conducted and more about its findings:
Updated: 09/14/23