Education levels predict dementia

Stockholm, Sweden -- Adults who don't finish high school are at a higher risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease than those with more education, a Scandinavian study found.

Dr. Tiia Ngandu of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, and University of Kuopio, Finland, tracked 1,388 participants through middle age and late life for an average of 21 years.

The study showed that compared with people with a low education level -- five or less years of education -- those with a medium education level -- six to eight years -- had a 40 percent lower risk of developing dementia.Those with a high education level -- nine or more years of education -- had an 80 percent lower risk, the journal Neurology reported.

"Generally speaking, people with low education levels seem to lead unhealthier lifestyles, which could suggest the two work concurrently to contribute to dementia or Alzheimer’s disease, but our results showed a person’s education predicted dementia on its own," Ngandu said in a statement.

"It may be that highly educated people have a greater cognitive reserve, which is the brain’s ability to maintain function in spite of damage, thus making it easier to postpone the negative effects of dementia. Additionally, unhealthy lifestyles may independently contribute to the depletion of this reserve."

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