While amyloid plaques have been linked to the development of Alzheimer’s dementia, having them doesn’t necessarily means the person will show signs of Alzheimer’s dementia. According to a study published in journal Neurology, this is likely due to the development of cognitive reserve through one’s lifetime. While almost everyone develop memory loss and small signs of dementia as they age, cognitive reserve is the buffer zone where one is able to compensate and slow the development of clinical dementia.
For the study, researchers analyzed 1,184 participants born in 1946 in the United Kingdom. They underwent cognitive testing at 8 years old and then again at 69 years old. They also underwent cognitive reserve index combining education at 26 years old, leisure activity at 43 years old, and occupation up to age 53 years old in addition to a reading ability assessment.
The cognitive test taken at 69 years old was out of a 100 points. As a group they scored on average 92, witht he lowest being 53 and the highest 100.
In their findings, higher cognitive testing score at 69 years old was associated with higher childhood cognitive skill baseline, higher cognitive reserve index, and higher reading ability. For every unit increase in the childhood cognitive test score, there was an increase of 0.1 points for the one at age 69. They also found that every unit increase in the cognitive reserve index was associated with a 0.07 point increase and every unit increase in reading ability added an addition 0.22 points to the age 69 cognitive skill test.
People with bachelor degrees and higher had on average 1.22 points more compared to those without formal education. Six more leisure activities including education, clubs, volunteering, yard work, and socials lead to a 1.53 point increase on average compared to four leisure activities. Additionally, a professional or intermediate level job scored 1.5 points more than those who held partially skilled or unskilled jobs.
They also found that subjects with higher cognitive reserve index and reading scores had slower decline in cognitive scores, without regards to their testing results at age 8.
“These results are exciting because they indicate that cognitive ability is subject to factors throughout our lifetime and taking part in an intellectually, socially and physically active lifestyle may help ward off cognitive decline and dementia,” said study author Dr. Dorina Cadar. “It’s heartening to find that building up one’s cognitive reserve may offset the negative influence of low childhood cognition for people who might not have benefited from an enriching childhood and offer stronger mental resilience until later in life.”
In other words, no matter where you stood as a child, a dedication to life-long learning will not only enrich one’s life, but will also improve the quality of life as they age by slowing the effects of natural brain aging, with more reserve to live a life with more autonomy and enjoyment.
P Almeida-Meza et al. Moderating role of cognitive reserve markers between childhood cognition and cognitive ageing: Evidence from the 1946 UK Birth Cohort. Neurology (2022). DOI: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000200928
