Cognitive engagement, intellectual activities may stave off dementia.

Wednesday, June 25th, 2014

The Los Angeles Times (6/24, Healy) “Science Now” blog reports that in people “at higher genetic risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, completing more school and going on to a lifetime of mentally challenging work and leisurely pursuits can delay the onset of dementia by close to nine years,” according to a study published June 23 in JAMA Neurology.
Bloomberg News (6/24, Ostrow) reports that the study of 1,995 Minnesota seniors also revealed that “lifelong intellectual activities such as playing music or reading kept the mind fit as people aged and also delayed Alzheimer’s by years for those at risk of the disease who weren’t college educated or worked at challenging jobs.”
HealthDay (6/24, Mozes) reports that “at the time of the study’s launch, mental functioning was lower among carriers of the APOE4 genotype,” which is considered “the most significant genetic risk factor for late-onset Alzheimer’s,” and “among those who scored lowest on education, job, and/or activity measures.” Surprisingly, the study “authors found that those with the lowest educational and occupational scores actually gained the most protection against dementia by embarking on intellectual activities from middle-age onward.” Reuters (6/24, Doyle) also covers the study.