0218 Lifelong Learning Linked to Lower Dementia Risk

Lifelong Learning Linked to Lower Dementia Risk

Keeping your mind active with things like reading, writing and learning languages has been linked with a lower risk of dementia.

In fact, such lifelong learning is associated with a 38% lower risk of Alzheimer's disease, and a 36% lower risk of mild cognitive impairment. This is according to a study recently published in the journal Neurology.

Research suggests that there could be as many as 150 million dementia cases around the world by 2050. There is no single way to prevent every kind of dementia, but experts say lifestyle choices can reduce the risk of developing it.

The recent study followed about 1,900 people with an average age of 80 for around eight years. The participants did not have dementia at the start of the study.

They answered surveys about learning at different times in their lives. These included being asked about reading and being read to as children, as well as their childhood access to things like newspapers, and if they had spent more than five years learning a foreign language.

Questions about their middle-aged years, starting at 40, included magazine subscriptions, library use, access to dictionaries and how often they went to places like museums. They were also asked about how often they read, wrote, or played games in their later life, from age 80.

During the study, around 550 participants developed Alzheimer's disease, and about 700 developed mild cognitive impairment.

It was found that participants with the highest levels of lifelong learning developed Alzheimer's disease five years later than those with the lowest levels of lifelong learning. These people also developed mild cognitive impairment seven years later than those with the lowest levels of learning.

Study author Andrea Zammit from Rush University Medical Center in Chicago called the results "encouraging," since they suggest that taking part in mentally stimulating activities could make a difference to dementia risk.

She also said that more public funding for things like libraries and early education programs might help encourage a lifelong love of learning, which could ultimately reduce cases of dementia.