| Title: | Heart rate response and recovery during exercise and dementia risk: a prospective UK biobank study |
| Journal: | Scientific Reports |
| Published: | 3 Nov 2025 |
| Pubmed: | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41184419/ |
| DOI: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-22299-2 |
| URL: | https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-025-22299-2.pdf |
Publication 19064
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Abstract
The heart rate response/recovery (HRR) index, a common indicator for cardiovascular health during exercise, has been linked with neurocognitive disorders and mortality. However, the relationship between HRR index and dementia remains unknown. Electrocardiogram data from 46,348 middle-aged and older adults from the UK Biobank were analyzed following a standardized submaximal exercise stress test (15-second baseline, 6-minute exercise, and 1-minute recovery). The HRR index was calculated as the product of heart rate responses ratio during exercise (peak/resting heart rate) and recovery ratio (peak/recovery heart rate). We found that 519 participants were ascertained with dementia, including 232 with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and 85 with vascular dementia (VaD) during a median follow-up period of 12.62 years. Higher HRR index and recovery ratio were significantly associated with a reduced risk of all-cause dementia (HR: 0.72, 95% CI: 0.54-0.94, P = 0.017; HR: 0.75, 95% CI: 0.57-0.99, P = 0.018), but not with incident AD or VaD, respectively. In addition, higher HRR index was significantly correlated with slower cognitive decline in processing speed, reasoning, and memory (β:2.39, 95% CI: 0.28-4.49, P = 0.027; β: 2.12, 95% CI: 0.26-4.00, P = 0.027; β: 0.03, 95% CI: 0.02-0.05, P < 0.001), while the recovery ratio was significantly correlated with slower cognitive decline in reasoning and memory (β: 1.91, 95% CI: 0.04-3.79, P = 0.045; β: 0.03, 95% CI: 0.01-0.04, P < 0.001). Higher HRR index and recovery ratios are associated with a decreased risk of incident dementia and appear to have beneficial effects on delaying cognitive decline. The possible mechanisms for this may involve autonomic function and neurovascular health.</p>
17 Keywords
- Aged
- Alzheimer Disease
- Biological Specimen Banks
- Dementia
- Dementia, Vascular
- Electrocardiography
- Exercise
- Exercise Test
- Female
- Heart Rate
- Humans
- Male
- Middle Aged
- Prospective Studies
- Risk Factors
- UK Biobank
- United Kingdom
16 Authors
- Yiran Wei
- Yonglin Shan
- Wenxiao Fan
- Xin Huang
- Jiahao Ding
- Ming Mao
- Qianying Liu
- Minle Tian
- Xuewei Li
- Jie Lu
- Hongli Chang
- Yi Dong
- Yifeng Du
- Chengxuan Qiu
- Xiaolei Han
- Yongxiang Wang
1 Application
| Application ID | Title |
|---|---|
| 91982 | Exploring the complex interplay between lifestyle factors, brain pathology, and cognitive reserve in cognitive decline and dementia |
Enabling scientific discoveries that improve human health