Professions that protect the brain from dementia

2024-05-05 12:16:00, Shëndeti CNA

There are many factors that influence the choice of profession we make in our life. These factors range from our natural aptitude for certain skills, our potential for economic and social advancement, and more. However, most people don't know that they would do well to include a more important factor in their choice: brain health.

A recent study from Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health, in collaboration with the Columbia Center on Aging and the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, sheds light on the potential protective role of mind-stimulating occupations against the risk of developing dementia later in life. in life. The research, published in Neurology, highlights the importance of cognitively demanding work tasks throughout adulthood for maintaining cognitive abilities in old age.

The researchers collected data from the Norwegian Administrative Register and combined it with the occupational characteristics of more than 300 jobs from the US Department of Labor's Occupational Information Network (ONET) database. They calculated a routine task intensity index (RTI) as a measure of cognitive demands based on ONET metrics. A lower RTI score indicated occupations with more cognitive demands.

Using cohort-based trajectory modeling, the researchers identified four distinct cohorts based on the cognitive demands of the participants' occupations during their 30s, 40s, 50s, and 60s. MCI) and dementia in participants aged 70 years and older, taking into account a range of risk factors including age, gender, economic and educational level, general health and lifestyle habits.

The results revealed a compelling relationship between occupational cognitive demands and cognitive health in later life. Specifically, people who worked in occupations with lower cognitive demands had a 37% higher risk of developing dementia compared to people who worked in occupations with higher cognitive demands.

Studying the risk factors, Trine Holt Edwin from Oslo University Hospital found that "educational level was shown to have a significant effect, suggesting that both it and the complexity of the occupation play a key role in the risk of cognitive decline".

The study's lead researcher at Columbia University, Yaakov Stern, underscored the novelty of the research, saying, “Occupational cognitive demands have often been assessed through retrospective, subjective assessments. Furthermore, the use of register data for occupational history reinforces the existing evidence.'

"Overall, our study shows that high occupational cognitive demands are associated with a lower risk of mild cognitive impairment and dementia in later life," noted Vegard Skirbekk, Ph.D., professor of Epidemiology at Mailman and Columbia School of Public Health. Center on Aging, showing that both educational and occupational cognitive demands play a key role in reducing the risk of cognitive decline in later life. "However, we recommend commissioning further research to validate these findings to identify in detail which professional skills are associated with greater benefits in maintaining cognitive health."/ CNA