New research suggests that people who engage in lifelong learning have a lower risk of Alzheimer’s disease and can delay cognitive decline.
Tens of millions of people around the world are living with dementia, a figure expected to triple to more than 150 million by 2050. The burden to health and social care systems, experts warn, will be felt in every community, country and continent.
While there is no proven way to prevent dementia, new research published by the American Academy of Neurology suggests that a lifetime of cognitive enrichment, from reading and writing to learning languages or visiting museums, may help slow cognitive decline and lower the risk of Alzheimer’s disease, the most common form of dementia.
“Our findings are encouraging, suggesting that consistently engaging in a variety of mentally stimulating activities throughout life may make a difference in cognition,” lead author Andrea Zammit, a neuropsychologist with Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, told the Guardian.
Researchers tracked nearly 2,000 individuals with an average age of 80 who did not have dementia at the start of the study, following them for an average of eight years. A total of 551 participants developed Alzheimer’s disease and 719 developed mild cognitive impairment (MCI) during the course of the study.
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Participants completed surveys about cognitive activities and access to learning resources during three stages: early (before age 18), middle-age and later-life, starting at an average age of 80.
While 21 percent of those in the top decile of cognitive enrichment developed Alzheimer’s disease, the rate jumped to 34 percent in the bottom decline. After adjusting for factors such as age, sex and education, the team found that higher scores in lifetime enrichment were associated with a 38-percent lower risk of Alzheimer’s and 36-percent lower risk of MCI.
Those with the highest lifetime enrichment also developed the conditions later, delaying Alzheimer’s by over five years on average and MCI by seven. While not proven causal, the findings suggest cognitive health in later life is “strongly influenced” by lifelong exposure to intellectually stimulating environments.
“Public investments that expand access to enriching environments, like libraries and early education programs designed to spark a lifelong love of learning, may help reduce the incidence of dementia,” Zammit said.
