Higher Education = Lower Dementia

Studies have shown that the more time a person spends in education when young , the lower the risk for dementia later on. But whether or not its the education itself - and perhaps the associated  higher socioeconomic status and healthier lifestyles - that affords this protection  remained a mystery.Now,researchers from the UK and Finland have revealed the answer : Its all about coping.
Examining the brains of 872 people who 'd been part of three long-term aging studies , the researchers found that while brain changes seen in dementia are not necessarily linked to education level ,subjects who had more education level ,subjects who had more more education were better able to compensate for the effects of the condition as they aged .
"There's not a one-to-one relationship between being diagnosed with dementia during life and changes seen in the brain at death ,"says the University of Cambridge's Dr Hannah Keage , co-author of the paper published in the neurology journal Brain . She explains that a person may have a lot of brain pathology ,yet may have shown  no signs  of dementia. " Education in early life appears to enable some people to cope with a lot of changes in their brain before showing dementia symptoms."
 These findings have implications for public - health policy , says study lead and University of Cambridge professor Carol Brayne . "They're hugely relevant to decisions about resource allocation between health and education ."