New Findings about Possible
Dementia Risk Reduction
Without fail, for the last few decades, every time the November / December time frame is upon us, I find myself saying “oh no, I haven’t completed my Continuing Education (CE) requirements yet.” Every January I swear I will do it ‘sooner this year’, but so far I am not achieving that goal. Like with many professions, as a licensed physician I must take annual, technically-related continuing education. Admittedly, it is not by choice. It demands a chunk of preciously-guarded time. The end of this year, like most, will see an extra load on my To-Do list.
Recently, I saw a study that implies I should not complain about it so much. Not about the procrastination, which is still unfortunate and worthy of complaint, but about continuing education in general terms. Most often when my CE courses are completed I feel like I learned something of value. But there may be a much greater reward.
Millennials, gen Xers, and whoever else comes after the baby-boomers have benefited from parental insistence and support to attend college. Certainly there are exceptions, and also those who believe (probably rightfully) that the college tract is not for everyone. And of course there is the amazing category of autodidacts, those rare and wonderful self-teachers. Still, past research has shown that college study early in life increases cognitive capacity – not just packing the head with detailed information but actually improving aptitude to think and learn. And now it appears this benefit is not reserved only for the young.
A new Study (November 2015 published by Neuropsychology[1] and with a detailed abstract on the site of American Psychological Association) suggests “college studies may reduce risk of dementia for older adults.” Based on existing evidence (after a 4-year period, which they plan to extend), the authors postulate that higher education courses may increase the aging person’s cognitive capacity. They add it may “possibly reduce their risk for developing Alzheimer’s’ disease.”
Reading the details it becomes apparent that it need not be the kind of courses demanded as CE (continuing education) for healthcare providers. No. It could be almost anything that stimulates our “little gray cells” as Agatha Christie would have Hercule Poirot phrase it. Courses that stimulate social interaction may augment the improvement; although some of the classes in the study were conducted on-line (meaning it isn’t all just ‘social’). Perhaps it wasn’t the simplest of research to conduct because part of the key is to find courses that are a challenge to the particular older person.
In 100 Choice Smorgasbord: a Blueprint for Aging with Pizzazz, I suggested:
Take a local college or community course in ANYTHING. It will keep you alert. If you really wish to be daring, open the catalogue, flip the pages and point to one. This might be fun (like a mystery trip somewhere). HOWEVER, most of us may feel that we need to make every moment count. Taking a course on something we are really interested in or educating ourselves more in a previous specialty may be more rewarding.
The 4-year Australian study above (called the “Tasmanian Healthy Brain Project”) was not long enough to firmly validate long-term effects. Still, laying a bet on it would offer you pretty good odds. The results were significant.
Both the study participants and the control group (all between the ages 50-79) were given baseline reasoning tests (and researchers screened out any candidates who showed signs of dementia). The control group of 100 elders, who didn’t take courses, strangely enough also demonstrated an increase in cognitive abilities. My guess is that as with many studies, just the knowledge that we are being watched or evaluated changes our behavior. The lead author (Megan Leneham) also speculated that the control group folks may have been doing crossword puzzles and other similar activities we have all heard are beneficial. Difficult not to encourage such determination, however it probably influenced the outcome. The control group improvement scores showed up in a notable 56% of that segment.
Comparatively however, 359 people in the participant group who took college courses (of various subjects and levels) showed even greater changes. The heighten scores for this group were recorded for 92% of the participants (with the remaining 8% holding their ground). That is truly impressive.
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My own lesson might be that perhaps I should stop complaining about the yearly CE requirements. Additionally, like last year, I am going to sign up for a few more fun, or at least less technical, courses in a community program. Too, it makes me appreciate that I have taken part in three research and consensus projects conducted by the League of Women Voters this year, one effort fairly demanding. [The League calls these ‘studies’ but I didn’t want to confuse the issue here.] Organizations like this that offer social opportunities to delve into subjects with detailed questions may be providing you a benefit never considered – dementia prevention.
As I mentioned, the Tasmanian Healthy Brain Project screened out people who had, or chances are they had, some form of dementia. The idea was to discover if higher studies could help reduce the RISK of the disease. Looks like the chances are good.
I look at education as an interesting and fun insurance policy – contrary to other insurances plans I pay into. If continuing with school days as we age will put off the ‘daze’ in our life, I say count me in.
For more ideas, consider this:
Most local community colleges have courses for both adults and more mature adults. If you are lucky enough to live near a university that offers an ‘OLLI’ program (Osher Lifelong Learning Institute) consider yourself lucky and definitely check out their offerings. To find one of the programs in the OLLI network, search on’ OLLI’ and your community or local university. Also don’t forget learning and travel with the Road Scholar program (previously Elderhostel). They even have new opportunities for travel and learning for care-givers. Click here for general information Elderhostel Institute Network (RoadScholar).
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[1] Megan E. Lenehan, Mathew J. Summers, Nichole L. Saunders, Jeffery J. Summers, David D. Ward, Karen Ritchie, James C. Vickers. Sending Your Grandparents to University Increases Cognitive Reserve: The Tasmanian Healthy Brain Project.. Neuropsychology, 2015; DOI: 10.1037/neu0000249
Full text of study for purchase at Neuropsychology (accessed November 24, 2015)
Picture credit: Yuri-Arcurs. Dreamstime lists photo as royalty free but no longer available (2021).
