Later retirement cuts risks of dementia, study says
Source: Agencies |
July 16, 2013, Tuesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
NEW research boosts the "use it or lose it" theory about brainpower and staying mentally sharp. People who delay retirement have less risk of developing Alzheimer's disease or other types of dementia, a study of nearly half a million people in France found.
It's by far the largest study to look at this, and researchers say the conclusion makes sense. Working tends to keep people physically active, socially connected and mentally challenged - all things known to help prevent mental decline.
"For each additional year of work, the risk of getting dementia is reduced by 3.2 percent," said Carole Dufouil, a scientist at INSERM, the French government's health research agency. She led the study and gave results yesterday at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference in Boston.
About 35 million people worldwide have dementia, and Alzheimer's is the most common type.
France has had some of the best Alzheimer's research in the world. The country also has detailed health records on self-employed people who pay into a Medicare-like health system.
Researchers used these records on over 429,000 workers, most of whom were shopkeepers or craftsmen such as bakers and woodworkers. They were 74 on average and had been retired for an average of 12 years.
Nearly 3 percent had developed dementia but the risk of this was lower for each year of age at retirement. Someone who retired at 65 had about a 15 percent lower risk of developing dementia compared to someone retiring at 60, after other factors that affect those odds were taken into account.
It's by far the largest study to look at this, and researchers say the conclusion makes sense. Working tends to keep people physically active, socially connected and mentally challenged - all things known to help prevent mental decline.
"For each additional year of work, the risk of getting dementia is reduced by 3.2 percent," said Carole Dufouil, a scientist at INSERM, the French government's health research agency. She led the study and gave results yesterday at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference in Boston.
About 35 million people worldwide have dementia, and Alzheimer's is the most common type.
France has had some of the best Alzheimer's research in the world. The country also has detailed health records on self-employed people who pay into a Medicare-like health system.
Researchers used these records on over 429,000 workers, most of whom were shopkeepers or craftsmen such as bakers and woodworkers. They were 74 on average and had been retired for an average of 12 years.
Nearly 3 percent had developed dementia but the risk of this was lower for each year of age at retirement. Someone who retired at 65 had about a 15 percent lower risk of developing dementia compared to someone retiring at 60, after other factors that affect those odds were taken into account.
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