Reading, Writing And Learning New Languages May Delay Alzheimer's By Up To 5 Years

Alzheimer's disease is the most common cause of dementia wherein an individual suffers from memory loss and other cognitive abilities. This eventually impacts their daily life. The Alzheimer's Association says that condition accounts for 60-80% of dementia cases. The exact cause of Alzheimer's disease is not yet known, it usually happens due to the abnormal buildup of amyloid-beta plaques and tau tangles. While doctors cannot always predict whether or not a person will develop Alzheimer's, a recent study has found a way to lower the risk. The new study says that engaging in activities like reading, writing and learning a language can help to lower the risk of Alzheimer's disease and slower cognitive decline. The study was published in Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

Researchers recruited nearly 2,000 people with an average age of 80 who did not have a dementia diagnosis at the beginning of the study. They were then asked to fill surveys about the brain-related activities and learning before age 18, at age 40, and around age 80. These questions were about access to books, newspapers, and magazines, and learning foreign languages, among others. The researchers followed the participants for an average of 8 years.

Speaking to Medical News Today, Andrea Zammit, PhD, neuropsychologist at the Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center and assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Rush University in Chicago, and lead author of this study, said, "Cognitive impairment is one of the most feared aspects of aging."

Zammit added, "Finding modifiable lifestyle factors that may lower the risk of Alzheimer's disease dementia and slow cognitive decline is important because these behaviors can become habits or parts of everyday life, offering people practical ways to maintain their cognitive health as they age."

She also said, "Much of the existing research focuses on cognitive engagement in late life, but a love of lifelong learning is often fostered early in life. Activities in older adulthood capture only a snippet of the lifelong experiences that build risk and resilience in the aging brain. I think, when possible, it is essential to study how experiences across the entire life course shape long-term outcomes."

Study Findings

The team found that people who had the highest amount of lifelong learning developed Alzheimer's disease 5 years later, and developed mild cognitive impairment 7 years later, than those with the lowest amount of lifelong learning.

Zammit said, "These are meaningful differences. A delay of 5 to 7 years can translate into several additional years of independent living, something that many older adults value deeply. Even modest shifts in timing of onset of impairment can have substantial impact at both the individual and population level."

Lifelong Learnings And Cognitive Health

The team also found that the study participants with higher scores in lifetime enrichment had a 38% lower risk of Alzheimer's disease, and a 36% lower risk of mild cognitive impairment, when compared to those at the lowest level.

Speaking about the study, Zammit said, "These findings suggest that sustained cognitive engagement across the life course is meaningfully associated with lower risk of Alzheimer's disease and mild cognitive impairment. The cumulative effects of enrichment over decades may matter more for later-life clinical outcomes than short-term gains."

"The main takeaway from the results of this study is that cognitive health in old age is shaped by a lifetime of exposure to cognitively enriching experiences," she added. "While our findings suggest that cognitive enrichment at multiple points in life matter, maintaining lifelong enrichment may be particularly beneficial."

What Does This Mean For Indians?

India is witnessing a surge in dementia cases, with Alzheimer's accounting for 60-80% of cases among nearly 9 million elderly affected. This recent study can be a hope for Indians. Lifelong engagement in cognitive activities like reading, writing, and language learning from childhood, can help delay the onset of Alzheimer's by 5 years and mild impairment by 7 years.

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