Moderate physical activity could significantly lower the risk of acquiring Motor Neurone Disease (MND) later in life, a new study has found.
The findings challenge a widely held existing belief that physical activity could be a factor in developing the disease.
MND (known as ALS or Lou Gehrig’s Disease in some parts of the world) is a rare, progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord.
People with MND lose the ability to initiate and control muscle movement, which often leads to total paralysis and death. The average life span after diagnosis is two to five years.
Researchers at Akershus University Hospital in Norway followed 373,696 people in Norway for 27 years, recording physical activity levels.
Men with moderate levels of physical activity had a 29% lower risk of MND than those with the lowest levels. Men with the highest levels of physical activity had a 41% lower risk.
No difference was found in women's risk of MND.
Researchers also looked at resting heart rate. Men in the lowest of four categories of resting heart rate, which indicates good physical fitness, had a 32% reduced risk of MND compared to those with higher resting heart rates.
“Our findings show that, for men, not only do moderate to high levels of physical activity and fitness not increase the risk of MND, but that it may be protective against the disease,” study author Dr Anders Myhre Vaage said.
"The diagnosis of prominent athletes with MND at young ages has sparked the uncomfortable idea that higher physical activity could be tied to developing ALS,” he said.
“There have been conflicting findings on levels of physical activity, fitness and ALS risk. Our study found that for men, living a more active lifestyle could be linked to a reduced risk of ALS more than 30 years later.”
“Future studies of the connection between ALS and exercise are needed to consider sex differences and higher or professional athlete physical activity levels.”
Every day in Australia, two people are diagnosed with MND and two people die from the disease. More than 2300 Australians are thought to be living with MND at any one time.
The study was published in the journal Neurology.
Or become our friend and subscribe to receive our fortnightly newsletter.