2023-08-24 12:35:00
While Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia, it’s not the only one. Indeed, dementia takes into account other pathologies such as: Lewy body dementia, vascular dementia or frontotemporal dementia. This set of pathologies affects cognitive functions. This scourge affects approximately one million people in France. A number set to increase.
A lot of research has looked at ways to avoid dementia and has shown that the key is to adopt a healthy lifestyle. Strengthening your brain through certain activities such as sudoku or crosswords would also be a good way to reduce the risk of dementia. A new study, conducted by researchers from the University of Tohoku (Japan) reveals that taking classes as an adult, for example to learn a new language, would reduce the risk of dementia. The findings were published in the journal Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience.
Dementia: 19% lower risk in adults who take classes
For this research, the researchers analyzed data from 282,000 UK volunteers aged 40-69, which they observed for seven years. At the start of the study, volunteers were asked if they were attending adult classes, all subjects or levels combined. Their DNA was analyzed by scientists to establish for each participant a dementia risk score.
Throughout the study period, participants were subjected to numerous psychological and cognitive tests such as reaction time or memory tests. During the 7 years, 1.1% of volunteers developed dementia.
The study found that participants taking adult classes had 19% less risk of developing dementia than others. “We show here that people who take adult education classes have a lower risk of developing dementia five years later,” says Dr. Hikaru Takeuchi, associate professor and study author. In addition, adult education was also associated with: “better preservation of non-verbal reasoning with age“.
Nervous system: intellectual activities have a positive impact
According to the authors, taking classes as an adult would ward off dementia thanks to its positive impact on the nervous system. “One possibility is that participation in intellectual activities has positive results on the nervous system, what might prevent dementia“, detail the scientists.
However, they add: “But this is a longitudinal observational study, so if there is a direct causal relationship between adult education and a lower risk of dementia, it might go either way“.
Thus, if the results are rather positive, other research must still confirm them. Hikaru Takeuchi has already proposed that a randomized clinical trial be carried out in order to prove any protective effect of adult education on the brain. “This might take the form of a controlled trial in which one group of participants would be encouraged to participate in an adult education class, while the other would be encouraged to participate in a control intervention with equivalent social interaction, but uneducated“, he concludes.
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