In a new study, researchers from Georgetown University Medical Center claim that education appears to protect older adults, particularly women, against memory loss. The study results were published in the journal Aging, Neuropsychology, and Cognition on June 5, 2020.
The results suggest that girls who attend school for a more extended period will have better memory abilities when they grow old. The researchers believe that this may have implications for memory loss in diseases involving dementia, such as Alzheimer's disease.
The study tested declarative memory in 704 older adults between the ages of 58 to 98. Declarative memory refers to one's capacity to remember words, facts, and events. For example, it could be remembering where you put your keys or recalling a new colleague's name.
Participants of the study were shown drawings of objects and then were tested several minutes later on their memory of the objects. The researchers found that their memory performance became increasingly worse with aging. However, they also noticed that these losses were countered by the length in years of early-life education, especially in women.
Furthermore, the memory gains associated with each year of education were two times larger than the losses experienced during each year of aging in men. On the other hand, the gains in women were found to be five times larger.
The study tested people in a non-Western population, specifically the Taiwanese populace. Participants differed in the number of years spent on education, from none at all to graduate studies. According to Michael Ullman, Ph.D., a professor in Georgetown's Department of Neuroscience and Director of the Brain and Language Lab, further research is required to test whether the findings generalize to other populations.
He adds that the findings of the study may be significant, considering the rapidly aging population worldwide. In the paper, education also has been found to detain the onset of Alzheimer's disease. Moreover, the results contend for further efforts to boost access to education.
More Years of Learning Protects Against Dementia
Learning begets learning, according to Ullman. His research on the relationship between language, memory, and the brain has been a foundation in the fields of language and cognitive neuroscience.
According to Jana Reifegerste, Ph.D., a member of the scientific staff at the University of Potsdam, Germany, and a co-author of the study, more knowledge from more education should essentially lead to better memory, even if years later. She explains that this happens since learning new intelligence in declarative memory is more straightforward if it is related to knowledge already obtained.
Furthermore, Ullman says that evidence suggests that girls have superior declarative memory than boys, which implies that education leads to more significant knowledge gains in girls. He adds that forms of instruction could benefit women regarding memory, even in their later years.
How Does Dementia Start?
Australian Victoria State Government's Better Health Channel explains that dementia often starts when symptoms such as confusion, reduced concentration, memory problems, and behavior changes occur. Additionally, apathy, withdrawal, or the loss of ability to do simple everyday tasks could also suggest that dementia could be developing.
Most people don't realize when dementia might be creeping up on them. Experts say people usually mistakenly assume the symptoms to be a part of the normal aging process. Because of this, some people may refuse to seek medical help, or even acknowledge that something is wrong.
According to the Alzheimer's Association, early diagnosis allows a person to get the maximum benefit from available treatments. Moreover, it also provides an opportunity for affected individuals to volunteer for clinical trials or studies. Additionally, it also allows time to plan for the future.
