The work you do may keep your
 

brain

FIT

Study links Alzheimer's to mental stagnation

Use it or lose it.

That's the conclusion from researchers who found that using your brain at work - instead of your brawn - can reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease in old age.

"We believe the brain is an organ like any other in the body and ages in regard to how it is used," said Dr. Robert Friedland, a neurologist at the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and the study's senior author. "The brain is enhanced by learning."

The study by Case and University Hospitals examined the employment history of 357 people over four decades, from their 20s through their 50s.

Most were from Northeast Ohio.

Of these, 122 had developed Alzheimer's, including 35 percent of those who worked at technical, sales or administrative jobs. By comparison, a majority of those without the disease (68 percent) worked in managerial or professional jobs.

"When you look at the jobs of the people with Alzheimer's disease, they tended to be less complex, with less variety, more routine, and did not involve the individual's ability to call the shots," said Kathleen Smyth, who is the lead author of the study and assistant director of the University Memory and Aging Center, part of Case and University Hospitals.

The study was published today in the journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

It is the most detailed examination in the United States of actual job demands and the risk of Alzheimer's disease, said Elizabeth Koss, who oversees 29 Alzheimer's disease research centers across the country at the National Institute on Aging.

"To my knowledge, no one has looked at that," she said.

Alzheimer's disease causes progressive memory loss and other cognitive impairment as brain functions slowly degenerate.

Some 4.5 million Americans have the disease, including 212,000 older Ohioans, said Jan Bohinc, program director for the Cleveland-area chapter of the Alzheimer's Association.

The study supports the contention that increased mental activity may stimulate nerve cell connections and builds up the brain's resistance to the disease, said Smyth. "It's another piece of evidence that suggests that mentally stimulating activities are beneficial in terms of preserving your cognitive function in later life."

Smyth said the study might also indicate that the disease plays a role early in life, perhaps hindering a person's ability to do more mentally challenging work.

She said the non-Alzheimer's participants experienced an average 33 percent increase in mentally demanding work while those who developed the disease did not.

Other possible factors, including socioeconomic background, were not examined.

Smyth and colleagues at the School of Medicine and Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences graded specific job tasks according to the level of mental, physical, social and motor skills demands using a system developed by the U. S. Department of Labor. More demanding work received higher scores.

The results were adjusted to account for differences in the subjects' age, education, race and sex. Only work performed for pay outside the home was examined.

Smyth said people locked into more routine jobs can still find time after work for activities that keep their minds active, like learning to play a musical instrument.

"Do things that involve some variety, things that are new and challenging to you mentally, that calls on your creative side," she said.

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:

sjaffe@plaind.com, 216-999-4822