Education and Alzheimer's

People who have spent longer in education may have a lower risk of developing neuro-degenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and dementia. A U.S. study which followed 7,000 people over 70 for seven years found that a 70-year-old with at least 12 years of education can expect to live 14.1 more years without cognitive impairment, two-and-a-half-more years more than someone who left school at 16. Better-educated people also spend less time at the end of their lives suffering from cognitive impairment - 1 year as opposed to 19 months - than less well-educated ones. However, better-educated people were more likely to suffer from severe cognitive impairment - memory loss, loss of language, disorientation etc - and were at a higher risk of dying after developing mental decline.

You can read more about this research at

http://psychcentral.com/news/2008/05/13/education-slows-mental-decline/2277.html