Dementia and Daily Step Count Association

Exercise Physiology Brisbane - 23 September 2022

Dementia and Daily Step Count Association

Dementia impacts close to half a million Australians. The number of people living with dementia is set to double in the next 25 years. Whilst there are many factors that contribute to dementia, a recent large study in the UK has highlighted how walking/step count may be one factor that can reduce the risk of being diagnosed with dementia.

Study objective: investigate association between all-cause dementia and daily step count

Participants: 78,430 UK adults (average age 61.1 years) - 45% male, 55% female

Measure: daily step count (via accelerometer, incidental steps (40 steps per minute), peak 30-minute cadence, incidence of dementia (7 year follow-up).

Findings: An average of 3577 steps per day had a 25% reduction in dementia incidence, whilst an average of 9826 or more steps each day equated to a 50% reduction in dementia incidence!

Summary: a higher number of steps each day is associated with a lower risk of all-cause dementia, but some is still better than none. Even more reason to aim for 10,000 steps each day.

Source and further reading: doi:10.1001/jamaneurol.2022.2672