HUR Australia

Strength training could delay a dementia diagnosis by up to six years

Dr David Ward from the UQ Frazer Institute said that the findings suggest could be an important independent clinical marker to help diagnose and potentially treat dementia.

In an earlier article with Community Care Review, he stated: “Our new findings suggest that efforts to prevent or reduce frailty could delay the onset of dementia meaningfully – by a handful of years”, “One of our most interesting findings was that maintaining a low degree of frailty seemed to be necessary for individuals to fully benefit from having a brain with fewer dementia-related changes. In contrast, individuals who were living with a high degree of frailty seemed to develop dementia at younger ages, even when they had comparatively fewer brain changes.”
You can read the full article via this link, https://communitycarereview.com.au/2026/07/23/frailty-linked-to-earlier-dementia-diagnoses/

“Frailty has traditionally been linked to neurodegenerative conditions like dementia, but instead of just being a consequence of ageing or declining health, it appears to play its own role in shaping how dementia develops and is diagnosed,” Dr Ward said in the official press release for UQ, https://news.uq.edu.au/2026-07-frailty-could-be-key-early-dementia-diagnosis

These findings position frailty as an early marker for dementia risk allowing us a pathway to delay the onset of dementia by preventing frailty. By engaging clinicians, medical and professionals, to routinely measure and monitor frailty, opportunities exist to delay the onset of dementia and improve health outcomes.

With the appropriate support frailty can be preventable and treatable. “Regular exercise—especially strength training—can delay, reduce, and in some cases improve frailty, particularly when combined with good nutrition and social engagement", says Dr Ward.

UQ Healthy Living, https://www.uqhealthyliving.org.au/, has been supporting and has been preventing for many years. It has been wonderful for us to be part of these gyms, that take part in research like this one, providing evidence for the best health for every age.

The study was led by researchers from the Frazer Institute at The University of Queensland, also collaborating with the UQ Clinical Trials Capability (ULTRA) Team, Australian Frailty Network, Maastricht University (the Netherlands), University of Oulu (Finland) and Dalhousie University (Canada).

You can read the full article, published in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, via this link,https://jnnp.bmj.com/content/jnnp/early/2026/06/24/jnnp-2026-338460.full.pdf

NRLS2026 is underway in Brisbane! 🎉

The next two days will be packed with conversations about the future of retirement living, ageing well, care, wellbeing, and building stronger community connections.

Come and visit us at Booth 5 to chat with Dr Tuire Karaharju-Huisman and Dorothy Dominikowska about health, wellness, reablement, active ageing, and practical ways to help people stay stronger, healthier, and independent for longer.

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