Schooling is critical for cognitive health throughout life

Date:
August 10, 2020
Source:
Association for Psychological Science
Summary:
New research suggests that education provides little to no
protection against the onset of cognitive declines later in life. It
can, however, boost the cognitive skills people develop earlier in
life, pushing back the point at which age-related dementia begins
to impact a person's ability to care for themselves.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== Investing time in education in childhood and early adulthood expands
career opportunities and provides progressively higher salaries. It also conveys certain benefits to health and longevity.


==========================================================================
A new analysis published in the journal Psychological Science in the
Public Interest (PSPI), however, reveals that even though a more extensive formal education forestalls the more obvious signs of age-related
cognitive deficits, it does not lessen the rate of aging-related
cognitive declines. Instead, people who have gone further in school
attain, on average, a higher level of cognitive function in early and
middle adult adulthood, so the initial effects of cognitive aging are
initially less obvious and the most severe impairments manifest later
than they otherwise would have.

"The total amount of formal education that people receive is related
to their average levels of cognitive functioning throughout adulthood,"
said Elliot M.

Tucker-Drob, a researcher with the University of Texas, Austin, and
coauthor on the paper. "However, it is not appreciably related to their
rates of aging- related cognitive declines." This conclusion refutes
the long-standing hypothesis that formal education in childhood through
early adulthood meaningfully protects against cognitive aging. Instead,
the authors conclude that individuals who have gone further in school
tend to decline from a higher peak level of cognitive function. They
therefore can experience a longer period of cognitive impairment before dropping below what the authors refer to as a "functional threshold,"
the point where cognitive decline becomes so obvious that it interferes
with daily activities.

"Individuals vary in their rates of aging-related cognitive declines, but
these individual differences are not appreciably related to educational attainment," notes lead author Martin Lo"vde'n, formerly with the
Karolinska Institute and Stockholm University in Sweden and now with
the University of Gothenburg.

For their study, the researchers examined data from dozens of prior meta- analyses and cohort studies conducted over the past two decades. The
new PSPI report evaluates the conclusions from these past studies to
better understand how educational attainment affects both the levels of
and changes in cognitive function in aging and dementia.

Although some uncertainties remain after their analysis, the authors
note, a broader picture of how education relates to cognitive aging is
emerging quite clearly. Throughout adulthood, cognitive function in
individuals with more years of schooling is, on average, higher than
cognitive function in those with fewer years of schooling.

This review highlights the importance of formal education for cognitive development over the course of childhood, adolescence, and early
adulthood.

According to the researchers, childhood education has important
implications for the well-being of individuals and societies not just
during the years of employment, but throughout life, including old
age. "This message may be particularly relevant as governments decide
if, when, and how to reopen schools during the COVID-19 pandemic. Such decisions could have consequences for many decades to come," said
Tucker-Drob.

The authors conclude that improving the conditions that shape development during the first decades of life carries great potential for improving cognitive ability in early adulthood and for reducing public-health
burdens related to cognitive aging and dementia.


========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by
Association_for_Psychological_Science. Note: Content may be edited for
style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Martin Lo"vde'n, Laura Fratiglioni, M. Maria Glymour, Ulman
Lindenberger,
Elliot M. Tucker-Drob. Education and Cognitive Functioning Across
the Life Span. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 2020;
21 (1): 6 DOI: 10.1177/1529100620920576 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/08/200810145450.htm

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