Sharper reasoning skills in teen years tied to lower dementia risk later in life
Could the way we think in our 20s offer clues about our risk of dementia decades later? Large population studies suggest that people who perform better on thinking ability tests in adolescence or young adulthood are less likely to develop dementia later in life. However, cognitive performance in early adulthood is shaped by more than thinking ability alone; it can also reflect education, life…
Research published in Alzheimer's Research & Therapy reveals a potential link between higher cognitive scores in adolescence and a lower risk of dementia in later life. Analyzing data from over 10,000 Swedish individuals born in 1948, the study examined reasoning ability tested at age 13 and followed them for six decades. The findings suggest that higher inductive reasoning scores at age 13 correlated with a 2% decrease in dementia risk decades later, even after accounting for parental education, participants' own education in midlife, and major health conditions such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
While verbal and spatial abilities did not independently predict dementia risk, the study emphasizes the importance of early cognitive development in understanding dementia risk. The researchers stress that while these findings do not prove causality, they highlight the potential benefits of supporting healthy cognitive development in childhood as a long-term strategy against dementia.
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