Education level doesn't affect Alzheimer's risk

Highly educated people don't withstand the impact of Alzheimer's disease any better than those with less schooling, according to a study that contradicts previous research.

The study of 6,500 people in Chicago, published online by the journal Neurology, found no link between a person's educational level and their rate of decline to Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia. The results suggest doctors have to watch all patients closely for signs of mental deterioration.

Alzheimer's, a brain disease that impairs memory, language and other mental abilities, afflicts about 18 million people worldwide, a figure expected to double by 2025, according to the World Health Organization. While past studies suggested education helps people stave off the disease, it's more likely that the better schooled simply have farther to fall before the impact becomes noticeable, said Robert Wilson, a professor at Rush University in Chicago who led the study.

"It looks like things that are indicators of socioeconomic status don't affect your underlying risk" once dementia is detected, Wilson said. Education "provides you a little bit of a cushion, if you have a higher level, but it's no absolute protection."

The research tracked residents of Chicago's South Side neighborhood over 14 years, testing memory, problem-solving and other skills at three-year intervals. The length of the study and frequency of testing made the research more accurate than past reviews, Wilson said.

The subjects, whose average age was 72, had educational levels ranging from eight years of schooling or less to 16 years or more. Other factors such as race and occupation also had no impact on the rate of decline, the authors said.

Alzheimer's mainly affects people older than age 60, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The disease passed diabetes last year to become the sixth most common killer of Americans, the Atlanta-based agency says on its Web site. As many as 5 million suffer from the disease in the U.S., the CDC says.

The study's findings should warn doctors not to assume the "more sophisticated and more educated" are less vulnerable to the disease, Wilson said. Those with less schooling, on the other hand, can take some relief in knowing they're no more at risk of a rapid decline, he said.

Staying mentally and physically active has been shown to reduce the risk of developing dementia and its impact. The new findings don't change that advice, Wilson said.