Higher Education, Professional Occupation, and Wealth Lower the Risk of 'Dementia'

"More Mental Stimulation, Helps Protect Against Dementia"

A study has found that socioeconomic factors such as education level, occupation, and wealth influence the risk of dementia in old age.

On the 1st of this month (local time), the international academic journal Scientific Reports published research led by a team from University College London (UCL) on changes in cognitive abilities in old age. The research team tracked the health status of 8,442 British adults aged 50 and over over a period of 10 years, from 2008/09 to 2018/19, aiming to identify the correlation between socioeconomic factors and changes in cognitive status.

According to the explanation from UCL official news, the research team divided the participants into three groups. One-third were "people from socioeconomically advantaged backgrounds," who were either university graduates or held managerial or professional-level occupations. Another one-third were ordinary middle-class individuals engaged in routine jobs such as manual labor. The remaining one-third consisted of those from the most socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds.

Subsequently, UCL analyzed how the participants' socioeconomic backgrounds affected their cognitive abilities by synthesizing various data, including surveys, medical diagnoses, and cognitive tests. The results showed that the group belonging to the top one-third socioeconomically had a lower probability of dementia progression compared to the bottom one-third group.

In particular, compared to socioeconomically vulnerable individuals, wealthy people had a 56% higher chance of recovering from "mild cognitive impairment" to a "healthy cognitive state." Those with higher education or engaged in manual labor also recorded significantly higher recovery rates than the lowest group.

Dr. Dorina Cadar, the lead researcher and behavioral science expert at UCL, explained, "Our study emphasizes the role of wealth, education level, and occupation not only in reducing the risk of progression from mild cognitive impairment to dementia but also in enhancing the likelihood of reversing cognitive impairment to a healthy cognitive state."

However, the study does not explain the exact reasons why specific socioeconomic factors affect cognitive health. Instead, the researchers speculated that "higher education levels and intellectually demanding occupations likely provide more mental stimulation (compared to other job groups)," which "may help protect individuals from cognitive impairment and dementia."

They also added, "People with higher education levels, engaged in intellectually challenging occupations, or those who are wealthy and have easier access to medical and health resources may have more opportunities to improve their functioning in the early stages of cognitive impairment."