The smarter you are the more likely you are to die sooner of one of world’s biggest killers, study reveals

INTELLIGENCE leads to better decision-making and problem-solving throughout life. 

But a new study has identified a downside – it could influence how soon you die from brain-robbing disease dementia.

People who spend more years at school or in education are likely to deteriorate from the neurodegenerative disease faster, according to the findings.

This is based on a phenomenon the scientists working on the study have dubbed the “cognitive reserve paradigm”.

A person’s cognitive reserve is their brain’s ability to cope and keep working, even if faced with diseases like dementia.

These reserves can be boosted through learning and mental stimulation, but also mask and fend off the early symptoms of dementia.

This means more advanced disease has usually set in by the time a person is finally diagnosed, and this appears to effect survival.

Early detection of dementia is important because it can help those with the condition and their loved ones access the right care and support.

The research, published in the BMJ, analysed 261 studies and found life expectancy after a dementia diagnosis decreased for every extra year of education a person received.

Patients typically survived for 10.5 years, but the researchers discovered each additional year of studies cut survival time by around 2.5 months.

This means someone who finished an undergraduate degree aged 21 would live for a year less than someone who left school after their GCSEs, aged 16.

Writing in the BMJ, scientists at Erasmus University Medical Centre in Rotterdam, explained their cognitive reserve paradigm theory: “This paradigm postulates that people with higher education are more resilient to brain injury before functional declines.

“Once this reserve has been used up and dementia is diagnosed, these people are already at a more advanced stage of the underlying disease and clinical progression will be faster.”

The findings offer insight into how education affects dementia, because growing evidence shows that it reduces the risk of the disease generally.

The Alzheimer’s Society notes that people with less education are at a higher risk of developing dementia – though there are at least a dozen factors that influence risk, from genetics to diet and exercise.

Dementia is the leading cause of death in the UK, although there are different types with differing symptoms, that impact rates of decline.

The most common type is Alzheimer’s disease, which affects around 982,000 people in the UK.

Alzheimer’s disease is thought to be caused by the abnormal build-up of two proteins called amyloid and tau.

Deposits of amyloid, called plaques, build up around brain cells, and deposits of tau form “tangles” within brain cells, says the NHS.

There’s currently no cure for dementia, but there are treatments available to help manage symptoms.

Experts encourage people to make simple lifestyle changes to their reduce their risk of the disease, eating well, exercising, and staying socially active.

Previous studies have suggested people keep their brains active with number and word puzzles, to build up cognitive reserve, which will allow them to retain their abilities for longer even if dementia develops.

A study published in the journal Neurology in 2021 found that keeping up reading, writing and playing games in later life could delay the onset of dementia by up to five years. 

Out of the 457 people who were diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, the Chicago-based researchers found people with the highest levels of activity, on average, developed dementia at age 94.

The people with the lowest brain activity levels, developed dementia at age 89.

Find out how to recognise the signs of Alzheimer’s below…