New research suggests that being upwardly mobile might help preserve brain health in old age Folks who were successful in that way had lower odds for dementia, a Japanese study found The study suggests healthier economies might lead to better neurological health for citizens WEDNESDAY, May 22, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- Have you been socially and economically "upwardly mobile" through your life? If so, you may be doing your brain health a big favor, new Japanese research suggests. Folks who scored high in terms of "climbing the ladder" tended to avoid dementia or develop it years later than folks whose lives weren't on such a successful track, reported a team led by Ryoto Sakaniwa , a professor of social medicine at Osaka University. “Thanks to a large and robust dataset, our findings solidify the association between socioeconomic mobility and dementia risk,” he said in a university news release.
The study tracked data from what's known as the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study, which followed almost 9,200 participants aged 65 and over from 2010 to 2016. Lifetime changes in each participant's socioeconomic status, for good or ill, was evaluated, and then compared to national data on nursing care for data on dementia diagnoses. Definite trends emerged: Folks with downward socioeconomic status tended to be more prone to developing dementia, Sakaniwa's group found.
On the other hand, folks who successfully climbed the social and financial ladder had a lesser incidence of de.