Reading, writing and learning one or two languages can reduce your risk of dementia by nearly 40%, according to a study that suggests millions of people can prevent or delay the condition.
Dementia is one of the world’s biggest health threats. The number of people living with the condition is expected to triple to more than 150 million worldwide by 2050, and experts say it presents a major and rapidly growing threat to the future health and social care systems of every community, country and continent.
US researchers have found that engaging in intellectually stimulating activities throughout life, such as reading, writing or learning a new language, is associated with a lower risk of Alzheimer’s disease, the most common form of dementia, and slower cognitive decline.
Study author Andrea Zammit of Rush University Medical Center in Chicago said the finding suggests that cognitive health in later life is “strongly influenced” by lifelong exposure to intellectually stimulating environments.
“Our findings are encouraging, as consistent engagement in a variety of emotionally stimulating activities throughout life may alter cognition. Public investments that expand access to enriching environments, such as libraries and early education programs designed to spark a lifelong love of learning, may help reduce the incidence of dementia.”
Researchers tracked 1,939 people with an average age of 80 who did not have dementia at the start of the study. They were followed for an average of eight years. Participants completed surveys about cognitive activities and learning resources in three phases.
Early enrichment, before 18, includes reading and reading books, having access to newspapers and atlases at home, and learning a foreign language for more than five years.
Middle-aged affluence includes income level 40, household resources such as magazine subscriptions, dictionaries, and library cards, and frequency of activities such as visiting a museum or library. Later-life enrichment, which begins at an average age of 80, includes reading, writing, and playing games, and total income from Social Security, retirement, and other sources.
In total, 551 participants developed Alzheimer’s disease and 719 developed mild cognitive impairment (MCI), according to a study published in Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
The researchers compared those with the highest levels of cognitive enrichment, the top 10%, to those with the lowest, the bottom 10%. Among those with the highest levels, 21% developed Alzheimer’s. Among the lowest, the figure is 34%.
After adjusting for factors such as age, gender, and education, the researchers found that higher scores in lifetime enrichment were associated with a 38% lower risk of Alzheimer’s disease and a 36% lower risk of MCI.
People with the highest lifetime enrichment developed Alzheimer’s disease at an average age of 94, compared with 88 for those with the lowest levels of enrichment — more than five years late.
The researchers found that people with the highest lifetime enrichment developed MCI at an average age of 85, compared with 78 for those with the lowest levels of enrichment — a seven-year delay.
The researchers also looked at participants who died during the study and had autopsies performed. The study found that those with higher lifetime enrichment had better memory and thinking skills and showed slower decline before death.
One limitation is that participants reported details about their early and midlife experiences in life, so not everything may have been accurately remembered. The study did not prove that lifelong learning reduces the risk of dementia, as it only showed an association.
Dr Isolde Radford, senior policy manager at Alzheimer’s Research UK, who was not involved in the study, said the findings were not an inevitable part of ageing.
“This new research suggests that being mentally active throughout life can reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease by nearly 40%,” she said. “This supports what we already know about preventative measures people can take to reduce their risk of developing dementia.”
