Extra year of schooling may reduce dementia risk, study suggests

A study published in the journal PNAS suggests that an additional year of compulsory education may have long-term health benefits, including a lower risk of dementia. Researchers analyzed data from over 100,000 participants in the UK Biobank, comparing individuals born just before and after a 1972 British school reform that raised the compulsory school-leaving age from 15 to 16.

The findings indicate a lower incidence of Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia among those who attended school for an extra year. This protective effect was most pronounced in individuals with genetic variants that typically increase dementia risk, suggesting that education may mitigate certain hereditary predispositions. The study also noted a lower occurrence of heart attacks and strokes in the group with more schooling.

While the exact mechanisms are unclear, researchers suggest that factors such as higher income, job characteristics, and overall health status may play a role. The study's primary limitation is that the oldest participants were 65 years old, a stage where dementia is still relatively rare, meaning long-term follow-up is needed to see if these benefits persist into older age.