The researchers found a connection between professional activity and the risk of cognitive impairment and the development of dementia.
Scientists have concluded that routine work can contribute to the deterioration of cognitive abilities and even become a prerequisite for the development of dementia due to a low level of brain stimulation during professional activity.
The researchers found that constant routine work increases the risk of cognitive impairment by 66% and the risk of developing dementia by 37%.
“Our results show the value of an occupation that requires more complex thinking as a way of preserving memory in old age. Work tasks are indeed important for promoting cognitive health,” said Trine Edwin, a researcher at Oslo University Hospital in Norway.
7,000 Norwegians took part in the study, whose health and professional activities were monitored for 30 years, until their retirement at the age of 60.
These were people of 305 professions, which scientists divided into two groups according to the cognitive needs required by the work of the research participants.
Routine work required constant repetition of the same physical and mental tasks, as is typical of factory workers or cashiers. Housekeepers, watchmen, builders and postmen were included in the same group of professions.
More demanding work, which was called “cognitive-protective”, required creative thinking, analysis, non-standard problem solving and transfer of information to other people.
“In this group there were lawyers, doctors, accountants, technical engineers and people in the public service, but the most common profession was teaching. Teachers communicate a lot with students and parents, they have to explain and analyze information. It’s not so routine-oriented,” she explained. a researcher
The fact that most of the subjects performed work of the same degree of complexity throughout their professional life, which allowed scientists to draw conclusions about how professional activity affects the risk of developing dementia with age, adds additional value to the research.
“Just as we can use exercise to grow and maintain our muscles, training our brains through more engaging work tasks and constant peer interaction also appears to help prevent dementia,” added the director of research at the Institute of Neurodegenerative Diseases. in Florida, Dr. Richard Isaacson, who was not involved in the study.
Scientists say that to reduce the risk of cognitive impairment, people of any age need to learn new things and improve their professional level.
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