In research funded by the Alzheimer's Research Trust, British scientists at The Institute of Psychiatry, have found that keeping the brain active by working longer and retiring later in life reduces the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease at a younger age.
Researchers analysed data from 1,320 people with dementia, looking at education, employment and retirement. The research, which was published in the International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, found no link between education or employment and the risk of dementia, but did find that those people who retire later prolong their mental abilities above the threshold for dementia.
Co-author of the research paper and Scientific Adviser to the Alzheimer’s Research Trust, Prof Simon Lovestone, said:
“The intellectual stimulation that older people gain from the workplace may prevent a decline in mental abilities, thus keeping people above the threshold for dementia for longer. Much more research is needed if we are to understand how to effectively delay, or even prevent, dementia.”
Researchers analysed data from 1,320 people with dementia, looking at education, employment and retirement. The research, which was published in the International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, found no link between education or employment and the risk of dementia, but did find that those people who retire later prolong their mental abilities above the threshold for dementia.
Co-author of the research paper and Scientific Adviser to the Alzheimer’s Research Trust, Prof Simon Lovestone, said:
“The intellectual stimulation that older people gain from the workplace may prevent a decline in mental abilities, thus keeping people above the threshold for dementia for longer. Much more research is needed if we are to understand how to effectively delay, or even prevent, dementia.”