More than 55 million people are believed to have dementia worldwideaccording to the estimates of theWorld Health Organization (WHO). Each year, nearly 10 million people are diagnosed. Dementia is among the leading causes of disability and dependency; it is the seventh leading cause of death among the elderly.
Caused by various diseases, dementia is a syndrome that progressively destroys nerve cells and damages the brain. Eventually, this degradation may lead to a deterioration of cognitive functions, often accompanied by changes in mood and behavior. If certain factors are likely to promote the risk of developing dementia such as a pathology or a drug, conversely, others can prevent the risks. According to a Japanese study, going back to school would be one of these preventive factors.
Taking classes would benefit cognitive functions and dementia
Published in the journal Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, the study was conducted by researchers from the Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer at Tohoku University in Sendai, Japan. In order to conduct their research, the scientists analyzed data from 282,421 participants, registered with the UK Biobank, a large British health database. Aged on average 40 to 69 years, the participants were followed for 7 years.
In a questionnaire, all indicated if they had already taken lessons as adults, without specifying the frequency, the subject or the academic level. At the same time, on several occasions, they had to pass a multitude of psychological and cognitive tests, in order to measure in particular their fluid intelligencetheir visiospatial memory or their reaction time. During the research, 1.1% of respondents developed dementia.
Risk of developing dementia drops to 19%
After the analysis was completed, the scientists observed that people who had taken adult classes had 19% less risk of developing dementia 5 years later, than the other participants. Specifically, the results demonstrated that participants who had taken courses had better preserved their fluid intelligence than their peers, as well as their performance in non-verbal reasoningin other words their ability to solve problems presented in the form of a diagram or image.
Another significant finding, the results were similar when participants with a history of diabetes, hyperlipidemia, cardiovascular disease, cancer, or mental illness were excluded. This means that the low risk observed was not solely due to participants with incipient dementia being prevented from attending training.
“It is possible that participation in intellectual activities has positive effects on the nervous system, which would prevent dementia. But because this is a longitudinal observational study, if there is a direct causal relationship between adult education and reduced risk of dementia, it could go either way.“commented Ryuta Kawashima, co-author of the study. Furthermore, the authors call for further trials to further determine the protective effect of education on adult mental health.
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