Parkinson’s disease a progressive disease of motor dysfunction with associated simultaneous cognitive decline and dementia. However, recent study published in Mental Health and Physical Activity suggests increasing physical activity leads to decrease cognitive decline in patients with Parkinson’s Disease.

For their study, researchers recruited 307 participants from the Parkinson’s Progression Markers Initiative, a longitudinal study of adults with Parkinson’s Disease that completed tests on memory, delayed recall, visuospatial skills, language, motor functioning, and cognitive processing speed along with answering questions about their physical activity levels.

They found that more physically active participants experienced lower risks and slower decline of cognitive impairment and dementia development. However, participants who decreased their physical activity experienced worsening cognitive decline, leading to worsening of the motor functioning.

As a common theme to health, while we cannot completely prevent the progressive nature of many medical conditions, there are still things we can do to improve our quality of life. One of such things is the choice of being as active as possible.

JD Jones et al. Physical inactivity is associated with Parkinson’s Disease mild cognitive impairment and dementia. Mental Health and Physical Activity (2022). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mhpa.2022.100461