Norwegian research on dementia is receiving international attention

– Dit has been surprising, quite violent, but also incredibly fun!

Trine Holt Edwin, geriatrician at Oslo University Hospital, talks about a recently published study in which she is the first author.

The study, which was published in the medical journal, Neurology in April, has received a great deal of international attention, with mention in CNN, Forbes and The Guardian, among others.

The findings show that routine jobs are associated with an increased risk of cognitive impairment and dementia.

Edwin believes there are several reasons why the study has received so much attention.

– There is increasing interest in dementia and cognitive impairment in general, and in particular working life and the effect on health are in the wind now, she tells KK.

– If you want to lower your blood pressure through diet, there is one thing that works

– 66 percent higher risk

In the study, Edwin and her colleagues analyzed data from over 7,000 Norwegians with various occupations, and followed them from their 30s until they retired in their 60s.

Compared to those who had more mentally demanding work, the results showed that routine jobs in the 30s, 40s, 50s and 60s were linked to a 66 percent higher risk of cognitive impairment, and a 37 percent higher risk of dementia after the age of 70.

There were most teachers among the group with the most cognitively stimulating jobs, while in the group with the least cognitively demanding jobs there were most laundry personnel, postmen and road workers.

This was not particularly surprising, says Edwin. The results add to the series of findings from previous research.

– In 2023, for example, we published a study from 2023, where we found an increased risk of dementia among those with the most physically demanding jobs. These studies focus on different aspects of working life, yet we see that professions with a lot of physical activity are often less mentally demanding.

Psychologists warn against body positivism

Builds reserve capacity

The results support what Edwin calls the “cognitive reserve hypothesis”, which states that the more you use your brain earlier in life, the better equipped you are to slow down or delay cognitive decline and dementia later in life.

– In other words, you build a reserve capacity that makes you better able to resist age changes or brain disease, she elaborates.

The OUS doctor believes the study highlights the importance of lifelong learning.

– We hope that the findings can encourage decision-makers to value and promote the importance of education and a cognitively stimulating working life, as an investment in the population’s cognitive health later in life.

But the study also has some weaknesses. Edwin emphasizes that they have been watching contextsbut can’t nail down one causalcontext.

– We cannot therefore say with certainty which way the connection is going. In addition, there may be other factors that drive the connection, she says

– It’s a bit scary

The researchers have adjusted for several known risk factors, such as age, gender and high blood pressure, but Edwin points out that you can never adjust for everything.

– When we adjusted for education, the connection between work and risk of cognitive impairment and dementia became weaker, but still significant. It shows that education is also very important.

Several risk factors

In addition to providing a mentally challenging working life, there are several factors that can reduce the risk of cognitive impairment and dementia.

In 2020, the renowned Lancet Commission published a list of twelve risk factors that you can influence yourself.

Here, education is listed as the most important preventive measure that can be taken against the public disease early in life.

In mid-life, hearing loss, head injury, high blood pressure, high alcohol consumption and obesity follow as risk factors.

Late in life, smoking, depression, social isolation, physical inactivity, air pollution and diabetes are of greatest importance.

– This is madness!

– However, it is important to clarify that even if you do “everything right” you can still get dementia, and it is not the case that you are personally responsible for your dementia, says Edwin.

– Underlines the potential

Like Edwin, Atefe R. Tari, researcher at NTNU, points out that the study’s results support previous findings, including the hypothesis of cognitive reserve.

– We have heard a lot that “brain exercise”, or mental activity, is important to protect the brain against dementia, and especially via education, which is one of the most important risk-reducing factors, she says, referring to the report from the Lancet Commission in 2020.

– With this study, we can emphasize the potential in making our brain resilient by keeping ourselves mentally active. Use your brain with cognitively stimulating work throughout your life, and you are better equipped to avoid or slow down the development of dementia later in life, she adds.

– Be social and eat healthy

Tari points out that studies such as this put the spotlight on preventive work, because currently there is no effective treatment for dementia.

– That is why it is important to focus on prevention, and give people knowledge about what they can do to potentially reduce their own risk, she says and elaborates:

Norwegian invention takes the world by storm

– According to The Lancet Commission report, 40 percent of dementia cases are associated with modifiable risk factors. This means that we can potentially, to a certain extent, help influence our own risk. To keep it simple, it is best to follow the advice of the health authorities: be social, live and eat healthily, and be active – both physically and mentally.