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The risks of dementia is on a constant rise with people of varying age being affected by the condition. With so many possibilities around, nobody would have thought that the lack of literacy could be a possible trigger behind this condition.
A new study conducted by the researchers from the American Academy of Neurology has found that the people who are illiterate, meaning that the ones who have no recollection of how to read or write are three times more likely to develop the risks of dementia in comparison to the ones who are literate and know their way around.
If the statistics from the United States Department of Education is to be considered, it suggests that around 32 million adults across the country are illiterate.
Jennifer J. Manly, Ph.D., of Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York, who is also the lead author of the study suggested saying that being able to read and write and know the letters helps the people engage more in activities involving the functioning of the brain, including reading a newspaper and even helping out the kids in the house with the studies.
Prior conducted studies have found that indulging in such similar activities have reduced the risks of the dementia to a minimum. This new study further taps into the finding that indulging in more time in reading and writing things is key when it comes to maintaining a healthy brain.
For the study, the researchers focused their emphasis on the subjects who have acquired low level of education living in northern Manhattan. Many of them were born and brought up in Dominican Republic, especially in the rural areas where the access to education is minimal and very backward. The study involved the participation of 983 people with an average age of 77.
Each one of the participants have gone to school for 4 years or less. To clarify the situation even better, the researchers asked them whether they have ever been taught how to read and write. Once they gathered the data, the researchers divided the individuals into two distinct groups, one consisted of 237 people who were all illiterate and the other one consisted of 746 people which has literate people in it.
Following that, the participants took medical exams and underwent some memory and thinking tests not just at the beginning of the appointments but also during the follow up appointments which happened 18 months or two years later. The test involved recollection of any word or sometimes even indulging in coming up with as many words as it comes to their mind when stated with a single word like fruits and clothing items.
During the study, the researchers found that out of the illiterate group, 35% of the individuals which included 83 people were suffering from dementia at the start of the study. The researchers do believe that the age, socioeconomic status and even the condition of the cardiovascular diseases could very well be a contributing factor in it.
Amidst the participants who were not suffering from dementia in the beginning of the study, during the follow up that was conducted four years later, 114 people out of the illiterate group which compromised of 48% people, were suffering from dementia.
To further gauge a better understanding of the situation, the researchers evaluated the language, speed and even the reasoning skills of the individuals in question. The researchers found that the people who were illiterate did have a lowered score at the start of the study in comparison to the ones who weren’t.
Addressing the issues further, Many said that the study found that the literacy was associated with higher scores in the memory and the thinking capabilities of the individuals in question. The same isn’t just reliant on the reading and writing skills. The study and the observations from it do suggest that there are ways in which the reading and writing can help in boosting the overall onset of dementia that many often struggle with.
Finally addressing the situation, Manly said that the importance and the positive impacts of the learning and education is actually a lot more and has lifelong impacts when they learn the skills in the first place.
The only drawback or the limitation in this study was the fact that they didn’t know from where the people acquired their knowledge of reading and writing from.
