Lower risk of Alzheimer's disease mortality with exercise, statin, and fruit intake. - PubMed - NCBI

 "BACKGROUND:
Whether lifestyle affects Alzheimer's disease (AD) risk remains controversial.

OBJECTIVE:
Test whether exercise, diet, or statins affect AD mortality in 153,536 participants of the National Runners' and Walkers' Health Studies.

METHODS:
Hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were obtained from Cox proportional hazard analyses for AD mortality versus baseline metabolic equivalent (MET) hours/d of exercise energy expenditure (1 MET equals approximately 1 km run), statin use, and fruit intake when adjusted for age, race, gender, education, and exercise mode.

RESULTS:
The National Death Index identified 175 subjects who died with AD listed as an underlying (n = 116) or contributing (n = 59) cause of death during 11.6-year average mortality surveillance. Relative to exercising <1.07 MET-hours/d, AD mortality was 6.0% lower for 1.07 to 1.8 MET-hours/d (HR: 0.94, 95% CI: 0.59 to 1.46, p = 0.79), 24.8% lower for 1.8 to 3.6 MET-hours/d (HR: 0.75, 95% CI: 0.50 to 1.13, p = 0.17), and 40.1% lower for ≥3.6 MET-hours/d (HR: 0.60, 95% CI: 0.37 to 0.97, p = 0.04). Relative to non-use, statin use was associated with 61% lower AD mortality (HR: 0.39, 95% CI: 0.15 to 0.82, p = 0.01), whereas use of other cholesterol-lowering medications was not (HR: 0.78, 95% CI: 0.40 to 1.38, p = 0.42). Relative to <1 piece of fruit/day, consuming 2 to 3 pieces daily was associated with 39.7% lower AD mortality (HR: 0.60, 95% CI: 0.39 to 0.91, p = 0.02) and ≥3 pieces/day with 60.7% lower AD mortality (HR: 0.39, 95% CI: 0.22 to 0.67, p = 0.0004).

CONCLUSIONS:
Exercise, statin, and fruit intake were associated with lower risk for AD mortality."



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Skeletal Muscle PGC-1α1 Modulates Kynurenine Metabolism and Mediates Resilience to Stress-Induced Depression.

Depression is a debilitating condition with a profound impact on quality
of life for millions of people worldwide. Physical exercise is used as a
treatment strategy for many patients, but the mechanisms that underlie
its beneficial effects remain unknown. Here, we describe a mechanism by
which skeletal muscle PGC-1α1 (PPARGC1A)induced by exercise training changes
kynurenine metabolism and protects from stress-induced depression.
Activation of the PGC-1α1-PPARα/δ pathway increases skeletal muscle
expression of kynurenine aminotransferases, thus enhancing the
conversion of kynurenine into kynurenic acid, a metabolite unable to
cross the blood-brain barrier. Reducing plasma kynurenine protects the
brain from stress-induced changes associated with depression and renders
skeletal muscle-specific PGC-1α1 transgenic mice resistant to
depression induced by chronic mild stress or direct kynurenine
administration. This study opens therapeutic avenues for the treatment
of depression by targeting the PGC-1α1-PPAR axis in skeletal muscle,
without the need to cross the blood-brain barrier.

Moderate exercise not only treats, but prevents depression

Physical activity is being increasingly recognized as an effective tool to treat depression. PhD candidate George Mammen's review published in the October issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine has taken the connection one step further, finding that moderate exercise can actually prevent episodes of depression in the long term.

Why Is Exercise Good For Mental Health?

We all know that exercise is good for mental health, but why? What factors involved in physical activity, sports and/or exercise are good for our minds? Researchers from the Trimbos Institute in the Netherlands believe that certain psychological factors that are linked to exercise - mainly body image and social interaction - play major roles in boosting mental health.