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The study, which was carried out by researchers based in China and Australia and published this week in JAMA Network Open, aimed to investigate the long-term association between how people travel and dementia risk and brain structure. The researchers assessed data collected over a 13-year spell from 479,723 participants of UK Biobank, a long-term biomedical database containing de-identified biological samples and genetic, lifestyle, and health information. The participants, 54 per cent of whom were women, with an average baseline age of 56.5, were all dementia-free at the beginning of the study and able to walk. They were asked what modes of transport they had used most often to get about in the previous four weeks, excluding their commute to and from work. These responses were then grouped into four categories: non-active (car or public transport), walking, mixed-walking (a combination of non-active transport and walking), and cycling and mixed-cycling (cycling combined with other modes). Nearly half of the participants (49.1 per cent) were inactive; while 6.8 per cent were classified as walking-only, 37 per cent as mixed-walking, and seven per cent as cycling and mixed-cycling. > Cycle to work and you'll need fewer sick days, new study suggests -- as researchers find "further reasons for employers to encourage" cycling Over the following 13 years, 8,845 cases of dementia and 3,956 cases of Alzheimer's disease were recorded among the participants, identified by the researchers through hospital records and death registers. According to the study's categorisation, travel that incorporated cycling was associated with a lower adjusted risk of young-onset dementia, late on-set dementia, and Alzheimer's, compared to non-active transport. Cycling, either on its own or combined with other forms of transport, was also found to have a significant connection with higher hippocampal volumes, the researchers concluding that riding a bike represents "a promising approach for maintaining brain health". The hippocampus is a major part of the brain which plays an important role spatial memory and in consolidating short-term to long-term memory. It is one of the first regions of the brain to be damaged by Alzheimer's disease. "Our findings suggest that active travel modes, particularly cycling and mixed-cycling, are associated with higher hippocampal volumes," Liangkai Chen, one of the Wuhan-based researchers involved in the study, told MedPage Today this week. "The hippocampus is critical for memory and cognitive function, and greater volume is generally considered a sign of better brain health. "This outcome could be attributed to the physical activity and aerobic exercise involved in cycling, which is known to have neuroprotective effects. "Cycling, especially as a regular form of transport, may help increase blood flow to the brain, reduce inflammation, and stimulate neurogenesis, and requires higher cognitive engagement during travel, which could all contribute to the observed preservation of hippocampal volume." > Cycling one short journey a day enough to lower blood pressure, new research finds The study noted, however, that participants without the apolipoprotein E e4 (APOE e4) gene variant, which is present in up to 15 per cent of the population, doubling or tripling their risk of Alzheimer's, benefited more from cycling than those with the gene, though the researchers pointed out that they can also benefit from riding a bike. "Individuals without the APOE e4 gene variant appeared to derive greater benefits from active travel modes in terms of dementia risk reduction," Chen said. "Critically, however, our data indicate that APOE e4 carriers can still benefit from cycling, though these benefits are likely attenuated due to the allele's strong biological influence on neurodegeneration pathways. "These results collectively suggest that promoting active travel, particularly cycling, remains a valuable public health strategy to enhance brain health across populations." > Researchers find cycling better for boosting cognitive function than electrical muscle stimulation Meanwhile, participants in the mixed-walking group also possessed a lower risk of all-cause dementia compared to those in the inactive group - though the results for walking alone were mixed. "Overall, the association of walking with brain health remains inconsistent and warrants further investigation," the researchers said. "Our results suggest that mixed-walking models, which combine walking with other forms of travel that require higher cognitive engagement (e.g. driving), may be more beneficial in reducing dementia risk than walking alone." Help us to fund our site We've noticed you're using an ad blocker. If you like road.cc, but you don't like ads, please consider subscribing to the site to support us directly. As a subscriber you can read road.cc ad-free, from as little as PS1.99. If you don't want to subscribe, please turn your ad blocker off. The revenue from adverts helps to fund our site. Subscribe Continue Reading Help us to bring you the best cycling content If you've enjoyed this article, then please consider subscribing to road.cc from as little as PS1.99. Our mission is to bring you all the news that's relevant to you as a cyclist, independent reviews, impartial buying advice and more. Your subscription will help us to do more. Subscribe Dementia research Alzheimer's Study brain health [AMgAAAAASUVORK5CYII] Ryan Mallon After obtaining a PhD, lecturing, and hosting a history podcast at Queen's University Belfast, Ryan joined road.cc in December 2021 and since then has kept the site's readers and listeners informed and enthralled (well at least occasionally) on news, the live blog, and the road.cc Podcast. After boarding a wrong bus at the world championships and ruining a good pair of jeans at the cyclocross, he now serves as road.cc's senior news writer. Before his foray into cycling journalism, he wallowed in the equally pitiless world of academia, where he wrote a book about Victorian politics and droned on about cycling and bikes to classes of bored students (while taking every chance he could get to talk about cycling in print or on the radio). He can be found riding his bike very slowly around the narrow, scenic country lanes of Co. Down. Add new comment 14 comments Sort by [Threaded ] [Apply] Avatar whosatthewheel | 1 week ago 0 likes If one manages to avoid getting killed by a driver long enough to reach an age when such mental decline becomes a reality. * Log in or register to post comments Avatar ubercurmudgeon | 1 week ago 8 likes Unsurprising, as any physical exercise is good for one's health generally, and negotiating the minefields of potholes that pass for roads in Britain these days is as effective a mental workout as any computer game. * Log in or register to post comments Avatar eburtthebike | 1 week ago 8 likes Yet another huge result for the benefits of cycling. If this had been a new wonder drug then it would have been all over the MSM 24/7, but it's cycling, so they ignore it.surprise * Log in or register to post comments Avatar mdavidford | 1 week ago 6 likes Quote: They were asked what modes of transport they had used most often to get about in the previous four weeks, excluding their commute to and from work. Because commuting is somehow different and unable to impact your health? * Log in or register to post comments Avatar chrisonabike replied to mdavidford | 1 week ago 1 like Clearly you have to drive for that... * Log in or register to post comments Avatar chrisonabike replied to mdavidford | 1 week ago 2 likes EDIT - actually maybe that question itself was a test for dementia? (Anyone who said "a scissors" or wandered off on tangents at that point was assessed as higher risk maybe?) * Log in or register to post comments Avatar brooksby replied to chrisonabike | 1 week ago 2 likes chrisonabike wrote: EDIT - actually maybe that question itself was a test for dementia? (Anyone who said "a scissors" or wandered off on tangents at that point was assessed as higher risk maybe?) Remember - the Orange (wannabe) King of Merica proved his mental capacity by remembering five unrelated words and not many people can do that # * Log in or register to post comments Avatar Dnnnnnn replied to brooksby | 1 week ago 3 likes brooksby wrote: Remember - the Orange (wannabe) King of Merica proved his mental capacity by remembering five unrelated words and not many people can do that # It's amazing - everybody's saying it. And he has also reduced the price of eggs by 400%. His egg price reductions are the greatest - everybody's saying it. www.indy100.com/politics/trump/ donald-trump-egg-prices-down-400-per-cent... * Log in or register to post comments Avatar stonojnr replied to mdavidford | 1 week ago 1 like I dont know, I often think commuting cant be that good for my health as I arrive after another near death experience from an impatient motorist in a vehicle that can crush me. * Log in or register to post comments Avatar Rendel Harris replied to stonojnr | 1 week ago 5 likes stonojnr wrote: I dont know, I often think commuting cant be that good for my health as I arrive after another near death experience from an impatient motorist in a vehicle that can crush me. But the key to good brain health and warding off dementia is keeping the mind active, and whilst it may be terrifying at times riding in heavy traffic certainly keeps the brain engaged. Unless you're on a Lime bike, 75% of whose riders appear to disengage the brain the second they press the hire button. * Log in or register to post comments Avatar chrisonabike replied to Rendel Harris | 1 week ago 2 likes Wasn't there a study that suggested the right amount of stress (always debateable...) was actually healthier (than eg. a life of total relaxation)? * Log in or register to post comments Avatar FionaJJ replied to mdavidford | 1 week ago 2 likes mdavidford wrote: Quote: They were asked what modes of transport they had used most often to get about in the previous four weeks, excluding their commute to and from work. Because commuting is somehow different and unable to impact your health? It seemed like an odd exemption. I'd argue lumping those who took public transport as equally inactive as those who drove as potentially iffy too, depending on their threshold to allow for for adding walking to and from the train station or bus stop to become 'mixed'. Nevertheless, commentary on their categories aside, it is not exactly surprising that the results found that people who are more active in their day to day lives have better health than those who don't. Hopefully this is something that will be picked up by the sorts of media outlets that love a story on things that can cause/cure cancer and dementia. * Log in or register to post comments Avatar Rendel Harris replied to FionaJJ | 1 week ago 1 like FionaJJ wrote: Hopefully this is something that will be picked up by the sorts of media outlets that love a story on things that can cause/cure cancer and dementia. It's a nice hope but one can imagine the conversation in the Mail editorial conference: "Anything good for the health pages?" "Actually yes, they've found something which can significantly reduce dementia and is pretty much free." "Really? Sounds like we ought to run that as a front-page special. What is it?" "Cycling." "Spike it." * Log in or register to post comments Avatar jaymack | 1 week ago 5 likes Exercise is good for you, it's almost as if this is news! * Log in or register to post comments Latest Comments * Simon E 7 min 48 sec ago This is so obviously part of a conspiracy to silence dissenting voices. in: UCI doubles down on new tech rules * mdavidford 17 min 24 sec ago That's the deep state blocking them from delivering for their constituents. in: The Reform Party and the UK's lurch towards fascism * brooksby 50 min 21 sec ago Pretty sure that's part of the business plan. 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