Blurring memory. Affects that cancel each other out. The mind that appears distant, almost unattainable. As if an imperceptible fog erased memories, silently covering the brain. There are many metaphors that can explain what happens to the person who faces Alzheimer’s disease.
Talking about prevention is obviously difficult. But we must not forget, as the items listed in the potential risk factors recently published by the Lancet Commission remind us, that we need to plan ahead. And not just checking the possible diabetesthehypertension or other chronic conditions that put general well-being at risk. It would also be important cultivate interests and culture since school and protect sight and hearingto reduce the risk of isolation. Because the person’s social and educational conditions can also play a role.
A tailor-made search
Speaking of cognitive deterioration, regardless of the causes of the phenomenon (we must never forget the weight of other pathological conditions, perhaps of a vascular nature, on the onset of a picture of this type) comes a study that demonstrates the importance of socioeconomic factors such as education, employment and wealth. These elements influence the likelihood of developing cognitive impairment or dementia in later life.
This is according to research published in Scientific Reports, conducted by experts at University College London led by Dorina Cadar and Aswathikutty Gireesh. The study looked at 8,442 adults aged 50 and over in England over 10 years from 2008/09 to 2018/19. how socioeconomic factors at the start of the study were associated with changes in cognitive status. The researchers tracked how these people moved between various states: healthy, mild cognitive impairment and dementia.
They also considered the possibility of reversals, in which individuals improved from a state of mild cognitive impairment to a healthy one.
Information on socioeconomic factors was collected via a self-completed questionnaire. Cognitive impairment has been determined using various sources, medical, from cognitive tests and on the perception of the individual as well as obviously age, gender and marital status. By estimating the time spent in each cognitive state and the likelihood of transitions to neurocognitive disorders such as cognitive impairment and dementia, the researchers were able to gain a comprehensive understanding of how Socioeconomic factors influence the progression of the disorder of a person, as well as the duration spent in each cognitive state over time.
The impact of socioeconomic status
A clear fact emerges from the research. Those in better socioeconomic conditions tend to have a different trajectory in terms of potential decay. Especially i individuals with post-secondary educationtherefore who they attended the universityas well as those in managerial or professional level jobs and those in the richest third of the population appear less at risk. In the sense that they were less likely to go from a healthy cognitive state to mild cognitive impairment or from mild cognitive impairment to dementia compared to those with primary education (no more than secondary school), who worked in manual or repetitive occupations and in the third most fragile on the socioeconomic front.
Looking at the study, we see that having a post-secondary education level was associated with a 43% lower probability of moving from a healthy cognitive state to mild cognitive impairment. Not only that. Being part of the richest third of the population it was associated with a 26% lower chance of progressing from mild to severe cognitive impairment.
The study, as the authors report, therefore highlights how economic availability, education, level and role in the workplace favors a reduction in the risk of transition from mild cognitive impairment to dementia, as well as favoring a possible reverse, when obviously possible, towards a healthy cognitive state. In short, perhaps without talking about Alzheimer’s, social well-being appears as a key to hoping to reverse a trajectory that is heading towards the negative.
Let’s be clear: this is just data. AND there are no clear explanations to clarify this trend. But it can be hypothesized that education and professions that engage the mind more can offer a stimulus to build a stronger brain reserve. And therefore help protect individuals from cognitive impairment.
It is important to catch the first signs of decay
While waiting for studies of this type to delve deeper into the potential relationships between socioeconomic status and the well-being of the nervous system, it is necessary to remember how important it is Don’t ignore any warning signs. In this sense, in fact, pharmacological research is offering perspectives of great interest, especially considering the so-called MCI (Mild Cognitive Impairment), i.e. the early stages of the pathology.
What to do? Keep in mind that sometimes, especially in people who are advanced in years, small deficits are not recognised: forgetting where you parked your car, giving different names to people you know, or even just changing your habits.
Arriving early, even with a suspicion, makes the difference. Because solutions are approaching that could influence the progress of the pathology.
It is hoped to arrive at approaches that act not on the cognitive or behavioral symptom, but also to slow down the progression of the pathology or delay its onset if used in an early phase of the disease. So, if something alarms us, talk to your doctor.
