Education does not slow cognitive decline in the elderly

(Reuters Health) – Researchers say higher education may strengthen the basics of overall brain function, but from this higher level of functioning, cognitive responsiveness does not affect the decline of cognition in the elderly.

Previous studies have linked higher education to a greater cognitive reserve, the ability of the mind to optimize its performance, which could delay or at least mitigate the appearance of significant changes in cognitive function with age.

However, there is conflicting evidence as to whether the level of education also influences the speed with which thinking faculties deteriorate once they begin to disappear, notes the team. of study in neurology. Based on nearly 3,000 older people tracked over time, new research suggests that this is not the case.

"Education is not a determining factor in the age of cognition," senior author Robert Wilson of the Alzheimer's Disease Center at Rush University Medical Center told Reuters Health. in Chicago.

Wilson's team used data from 2,899 men and women in two long-term US studies to badess the contribution of education to cognitive reserves and the sharp decline it brings with aging. At the beginning of the study, the average age of the participants was 78 years old. On average, members of the group had more than 16 years of study.

All were dementia-free when enrolled, and participants underwent annual cognitive tests for an average of eight years. Cerebral autopsies were performed on the deceased during the period of the study.

The researchers found that the younger age and the higher level of education at baseline were badociated with a higher overall level of cognition at the beginning of the study period. And women had higher levels of basic cognitive functioning than men.

In the years following the baseline badessments, however, education was not related to a decline in cognitive decline or a later onset of cognitive decline badociated with emerging dementia. In fact, the rapid decline in cognitive function towards the end of life seems to have started earlier in more educated individuals.

The probabilities of finding evidence of stroke during autopsy studies of the brain appeared to be lower among individuals with a higher level of education, but higher education did not show any evidence of stroke. did not prevent the faster cognitive decline badociated with stroke or dementia.

"The level of education is related to the level of cognitive function at the beginning of old age but not to changes in cognition afterwards," Wilson said. "A better understanding of the factors contributing to cognitive reserves may suggest new strategies for maintaining cognitive function in the elderly."

"The most surprising is the modest effect of education in this study," said Dr. Isabel Pavao Martins of the University of Lisbon in Portugal, who did not participate in the study. # 39; study. "But this may be due to the high level of overall education in the sample population. If you study larger educational variations, the results could be different, "she said by e-mail.

"Higher education is still a protective factor, because these subjects work better along the way," Pavao said. "It is necessary to continue the research by comparing subjects of different formations".

SOURCE: bit.ly/2QHAYoe Neurology, online February 6, 2019.