Another Possible Exercise Bonus: Preventing Parkinson’s Disease

By Amy Norton HealthDay Reporter

THURSDAY, May 18, 2023 (HealthDay News) — Regular exercise has a long list of health benefits, and a new study suggests another could be added: a lower risk of Parkinson’s disease.

The studyof nearly 99,000 French women, found that those who were the most physically active on a daily basis were 25% less likely to develop Parkinson’s disease over three decades, compared to more sedentary women.

This does not prove that exercise, by itself, is responsible, the researchers said. At the same time, they say the link is unlikely to reflect “reverse causation” – with women in the early stages of Parkinson’s being less likely to exercise.

That’s because the study assessed the women’s exercise habits up to 20 years before they were diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.

And since regular exercise clearly has benefits anyway, the results could be considered another motivator to move, a lead researcher said. Dr. Alexis Elbaz.

“Physical activity has beneficial effects on many bodily systems, including the bones, heart and lungs,” said Elbaz, a research professor at France’s national research institute INSERM in Paris. “And our results show that physical activity may also help prevent or delay Parkinson’s disease.”

Parkinson’s disease affects nearly one million people in the United States, according to the Parkinson’s Foundation.

It is a brain disease that gradually destroys or disables cells that produce dopamine, a chemical that helps regulate movement and emotional responses.

The most visible symptoms of Parkinson’s disease are related to movement – tremors, stiff limbs and problems with coordination – but the effects are wide-ranging and can include depression, irritability and problems with memory and thinking.

In general, researchers believe that the disease results from a complex interaction between genetic susceptibility and environmental factors.

But only a few modifiable risk factors have been linked to Parkinson’s disease, including a history of head trauma and occupational exposure to pesticides or heavy metals. If exercise is protective, that would make it one of the few ways to help prevent disease.

“This is important because it represents a possible prevention strategy for a disease that is incurable and has serious implications for quality of life,” Elbaz said.

The results – published on May 17 in the journal Neurology — are based on just under 99,000 French women who took part in a national health study in 1990. At first, and then every few years, they answered questionnaires about their lifestyle habits and medical history.

This included questions assessing vigorous exercise, such as playing sports and running, as well as daily activities such as walking, climbing stairs and household chores. The researchers assigned each activity a score called a metabolic equivalent (MET), then multiplied each activity’s MET by its frequency and duration.

In other words, it was a complicated measure.

Because of this, Elbaz said, it’s unclear whether particular types of exercise are linked to lower Parkinson’s risk.

Over three decades, 1,074 study participants developed Parkinson’s disease. According to the researchers, the risk was lowest in women who had been the most physically active over the past 10 years, even after taking into account factors such as age, weight and diet.

A quarter of the most active women had a 25% lower risk of Parkinson’s disease than a quarter of the least active women.

The problem is that Parkinson’s disease usually has a long “prodromal” phase – a time when people may have some symptoms, but the disease hasn’t fully manifested yet. It is therefore possible that some women in this phase of the disease have reduced their activities.

To account for this, the researchers looked at participants’ exercise habits up to 20 years before any Parkinson’s diagnosis. They found that exercise was still linked to lower risk, even though the strength of the connection was lower.

There’s reason to believe exercise might be protective, Elbaz said. Other research has shown, for example, that exercise can help protect brain cells from the ravages of oxidative stress, one of the mechanisms implicated in Parkinson’s disease.

Dr Michael Okunnational medical adviser to the non-profit Parkinson’s Foundation, called the results “meaningful and important.”

He noted that a handful of previous studies have linked exercise to reduced Parkinson’s risk in men only. (Men have a higher rate of Parkinson’s than women.)

Okun said this new large-scale study suggests that men and women could consider exercising “lifelong” as a way to reduce the risk of Parkinson’s.

This long-term aspect is important, Elbaz said. The women in this study were 49 years old, on average, at baseline, and it was their level of activity over the previous 10 to 20 years that mattered in their risk of Parkinson’s disease.

“It is therefore important to exercise early in life to be able to prevent or delay the incidence of a neurodegenerative disorder such as Parkinson’s disease,” Elbaz said.

The Parkinson Foundation has more on the causes of Parkinson’s disease.

SOURCES: Alexis Elbaz, MD, PhD, teacher-researcher, INSERM, Paris; Michael Okun, MD, National Medical Advisor, Parkinson’s Foundation, Miami/New York; NeurologyMay 17, 2023, online

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