According to a new study, jobs that do not involve much mental stimulation are linked to higher cognitive impairment rates after 70 years of age.
Mentally Engaging, Non-Routine Jobs and Cognitive Impairment
The study found that individuals who have more repetitive or routine jobs, which are work that can be done without high mental engagement, have a 66% higher likelihood of getting cognitive impairment after 70 years of age.
On the other hand, according to the researchers, individuals who have cognitively stimulating jobs during their 30s, 40s, 50s, and 60s could have a lower risk of developing cognitive impairment later on.
Trine Holt Edwin, MD, PhD, the study's first author, explains that their study aligns with evidence from several cohort studies from Europe that reveal that low cognitive demands in one's occupation is associated with an earlier and higher risk of developing cognitive impairment. Findings were noted in the "Trajectories of Occupational Cognitive Demands and Risk of Mild Cognitive Impairment and Dementia in Later Life" study.
Work Type Associated With Later-Life Cognitive Decline
As part of the study, the researchers looked into work and later-life cognition of 7,003 individuals across Norway. The study was able to cover 305 unique jobs. The study comes as part of a bigger project known as "Changing lives, changing brains."
Jobs were scored by the researchers using the RTI (Routine Task Intensity) scale. Routine tasks are activities that have the least cognitive challenge. These typically require precision and speed. However, due to the repetitive nature of these tasks, less mental involvement is required.
Non-routine tasks had lower RTI grades and required a greater degree of cognitive impairment. They cover regular novel challenges that necessitate creativity, strategic interpretation, or analysis.
Overall, the jobs were divided into four groups. In the high RTI group, the most frequent occupations were office cleaners and helpers. In the intermediate high RTI group, retail sales personnel and store salespersons were covered. In the medium-low RTI group, nurses and childcare workers were commonly assigned. In the lowest RTI group, primary and secondary education teaching professionals were most represented.
Among individuals belonging to the high RTI group, 42% had cognitive impairment at 70 years. This is in comparison to the low RTI group, with a rate of 27%.
Edwin notes that the study results are grounded on the cognitive reserve hypothesis. The findings support the notion by showing that cognitive abilities that are obtained through occupation and education during midlife and early life can offer resilience against brain alterations linked to cognitive decline.
Associate professor Snorri Bjorn Rafnsson, PhD, of Ageing and Dementia in the University of West London, explains that new neurons are stimulated for survival by doing neurophysiological activity linked to challenging and new learning experiences. Cognitively challenging would could, hence, boost activity of neurons and help keep the brain fit.
Moreover, according to Vegard Skirbekk, PhD, professor at Columbia Aging Center, says that social isolation, sedentary lifestyles, and limited social interaction could adversely impact cognitive development across adulthood and result in cognitive outcomes that are poor.
However, such an observational study cannot establish a causal link between a person's job and later-life cognitive decline. Skirbekk explains that though several studies look into this matter, distinguishing causality is hard due to how individuals self-select certain occupations.
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