UK study: Postponing retirement may delay dementia

LONDON (AP) - New research suggests delaying retirement could help stave off Alzheimer’s.
    Experts from King’s College in London analyzed data from more than 1,300 people with dementia—taking into account their education, employment and retirement.
    They say people who worked later in life were able to avoid the disease longer.
    The study published in the International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry says each year spent working was associated with about a six-week delay in the onset of dementia.
    One of the co-authors says the “intellectual stimulation” from the workplace helps keep the synapses firing.
    Another possibility, according to the head of research at the Alzheimer’s Society, is that men who retire early may have done so because of health problems, such as high blood pressure or diabetes, which increases dementia risk.

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    On the Net:
    http://www.alzheimers-research.org.uk
    http://www.alzheimers.org.uk