Wealthy, educated professionals have lower risk of dementia: study

Here’s another reason to get rich quick.

A new study finds that highly educated professionals in the wealthiest third of the population are less likely to develop mild cognitive impairment and for the condition to progress to dementia.

A college education was associated with a 43% lower chance of moving from a healthy cognitive state to mild cognitive impairment, according to a study published Friday in Scientific Reports.

Meanwhile, being in the wealthiest third of the population was associated with a 26% reduced chance of progressing from mild cognitive impairment to dementia.

“It is possible that education and intellectually demanding jobs provide more mental stimulation and help build a stronger brain reserve to help protect individuals against cognitive impairment and dementia,” explained lead study author Aswathikutty Gireesh from University College London (UCL).

UCL researchers followed 8,442 middle-aged adults in the UK over a decade to see how socio-economic factors influenced changes in cognitive status.

Participants filled out a questionnaire about their education, occupation, and wealth, and researchers ascertained their mental status through medical diagnoses, cognitive test scores, and self-reported symptoms.

They tracked how participants moved between different cognitive states—healthy, mild impairment, and dementia—while also considering whether brain function could improve over time.

Muckety-mucks were 56% more likely to recover from mild cognitive impairment and return to a healthy cognitive state compared to people with little wealth.

Those who attended college were 81% more likely to improve their brains.

“This potential recovery is critical for increasing quality of life in later years and reducing the long-term burden of cognitive impairment on health care systems, families, and society as a whole,” said senior study author Dorina Cadar.

Researchers are calling for policies that support mental and cognitive well-being at all income levels. They hope their work will spur additional research into how socioeconomic factors, particularly wealth, help protect against cognitive decline.

Nearly 7 million Americans have been diagnosed with dementia. Risk factors include lower levels of education, hearing loss, high blood pressure, tobacco use, obesity, depression, diabetes, excessive alcohol consumption, traumatic brain injury, air pollution, social isolation, loss vision, high cholesterol and physical inactivity.

A study out this week found that exercising just once or twice a week can reduce the risk of dementia as well as frequent exercise.