Study: Education may cut dementia risk
By Pam Belluck, New York Times
The risk of developing dementia is decreasing for people with at least a high school education, according to an important study that suggests that changes in lifestyle and improvements in physical health can help prevent or delay cognitive decline.
The study, published last week in the New England Journal of Medicine, provides the strongest evidence to date that a more educated population and better cardiovascular health are contributing to a decline in new dementia cases over time, or at least helping more people stave off dementia for longer.
The findings have implications for health policy and research funding, and they suggest that the long-term cost of dementia care may not be as devastatingly expensive as policy makers had predicted, because more people will be able to live independently longer.
