Poor physical function may be a warning sign of increased risk of Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, a new study suggests.

"Our point is that you don't want to separate the mind from the rest of the body," said study co-author Dr. Eric Larson, director of the Group Health Center for Health Studies, in Seattle. "The two are inextricably linked in older people," he added.

"Even the mildest degree of physical disability is going to predict a heightened risk for Alzheimer's," added Dr. Gary Kennedy, a geriatric psychiatrist and chairman of the Geriatric Mental Health Foundation at Montefiore Medical Center in New York City. "This adds a little to diagnostic precision when we're looking for who's at risk and who's not, so we can provide interventions that prevent," he said.

While some previous studies have found a relationship between physical function and cognitive ability, they haven't explored how physical performance is linked to the development of dementia or cognitive impairment, which is often a precursor to dementia.

For the new study, which appears in the May 22 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine, investigators looked at 2,288 men and women aged 65 and older who did not have dementia when the study began.

Cognitive abilities were assessed and ranked at the beginning of the study. Physical function was assessed, according to several established tests: a timed, 10-foot walk; a "chair-stand test" that timed participants as they stood from a seated position five times; a standing balance assessment; and a measurement of grip strength in the dominant hand.

Assessments were updated every other year for an average of six years.

Source: http://www.msn.com/

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