The Effect of Exercise on the Prevention of Alzheimer’s disease

The Effect of Exercise on the Prevention of Alzheimer’s disease Student’s Name Institutional Affiliation San Jacinto College – North Date The Effect of Exercise on the Prevention of Alzheimer’s disease 1.0 Introduction Alzheimer’s disease is a chronic neurodegenerative disease that leads to the wastage (degeneration) of brain cells. The disease begins slowly and steadily worsens over time. It is recognized as the main cause of dementia, which contributes to a decline in behavioral, thinking, and social skills, which eventually disrupts the ability of an individual to function independently. According to Stephen, Hongisto, Solomon, and Lönnroos (2017), 3.6 million individuals across the world were diagnosed with dementia in 2010. Scholars estimate that the number will reach approximately 1.25 billion by 2050, and this implies that close to 22% of the world's population is at risk of being affected by the disease. The disease affects both males and females, but it is more prevalent among older adults aged 50 years and above. The causes of the disease are not well known, but scientists argue that genetic factors and lifestyle conditions can contribute to the disease (Streber, Abu-Omar, Hentschke & Rütten, 2017). Alzheimer's does not have a cure, and the condition is remedied through management. For instance, physical exercise has been found to significantly prevent the occurrence of Alzheimer's disease. 2.0 Hypothesis/Purpose, Methodology, and Results/Discussion 2.1 Hypothesis The research was conducted to examine the impacts of physical exercises in the prevention of Alzheimer’s disease. The research was conducted by Ruth Stephen, Kristiina Hongisto, Alina Solomon, and Eija Lönnroos, and it was published on January 3rd, 2017, in "The Journals of Gerontology." The scholars predicted that the disease was attributed to modifiable risk factors such as midlife obesity, hypertension, diabetes, smoking, depression, and low levels of education. Therefore, the aim of the study was to determine if physical activity could contribute to prevention or delaying the beginning of brain degeneration and Alzheimer's. A follow-up was conducted over a period of 6 years to determine the effects of physical exercise on preventing the worsening of the disease. In the studies that were analyzed, physical activities were analyzed as hours per day and per week over a general period of 31 years. The aim was to examine the minutes spent in physical exercises at midlife and late life (Stephen et al, 2017). 2.2 Methodology CINAHL and Medline databases were analyzed to determine the correlation between Alzheimer’s and physical activity. The participants were randomly selected from the published articles in the journals. Out of the studies that were analyzed, 24 studies fulfilled the inclusion criteria, and those who participated in the study ranged from 176 to 5,698. The follow-up perio...