PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

How educational attainment may impact memory and dementia risk later in life

A Rutgers researcher examines health outcomes of historical education policies

2024-11-20
(Press-News.org) Historical policies shaping educational attainment have enduring benefits for later life memory and risk of dementia, according to a study led by a Rutgers Health researcher.

 

The study, published in Epidemiology, compared the differences in years of education based on variations in state schooling mandates with cognitive performance outcomes in residents decades later.

 

“Policies to increase the quantity or quality of schooling now are likely to have long-term benefits on cognitive outcomes,” said Min Hee Kim, a faculty member in the Center for Health Services Research at the Rutgers Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research and the lead author of the study.

 

Researchers have found education can be a predictor of better cognitive performance, memory function, life expectancy and delayed onset of Alzheimer’s disease or dementia. Despite the previous evidence that schooling requirement laws impact cognition in older adults, gaps in equitable research remain. For example, previous research has lumped together educational gain of white older adults and Black older adults, although school mandates weren't consistently enforced for Black children in the United States.

 

When she was a postdoctoral researcher at University of California San Francisco from 2022 to 2024, Kim led researchers in examining data from more than 20,000 older Black and white adults and evaluating state education policies. They found increased years of education as a result of a state’s mandatory schooling laws and laws related to education quality were associated with better overall cognitive performance later in life including better memory and verbal fluency – major determinants of dementia risk.

 

Researchers examined the specific impact of education on Black Americans with regard to former educational policies and opportunities. Among other inequalities, current generations of Black older adults received education from a system impacted by racial segregation and racial discrimination.

 

“Investment in education is important for health equity,” said Kim, an assistant professor in the Rutgers School of Nursing. “Education provides similar benefits for later-life cognitive outcomes across racial groups, but the potential impact of improvements to education access and quality is likely to be larger for Black Americans because a greater proportion of this population is exposed to limited educational resources.”

 

Kim added this investigation further supported previous research which found that residing in states with high-quality education as a child is associated with lower dementia risk later in life.

 

Coauthors include researchers from Montclair State University, Kaiser Permanente Northwest, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, University of Maryland School of Public Health, Columbia University, University of Alabama at Birmingham and Boston University.

END


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Growing soybeans has a surprisingly significant emissions footprint, but it’s ripe for reduction

Growing soybeans has a surprisingly significant emissions footprint, but it’s ripe for reduction
2024-11-20
AMES, Iowa – Over the typical two-year rotation of corn and soybeans most Iowa farmers use, 40% of nitrous oxide emissions are in the soybean year, according to a new study by an Iowa State University research team.  The share of the potent greenhouse gas released during the soybean half of a crop rotation cycle is surprisingly high, given most soybeans fields aren’t treated with nitrogen, said Michael Castellano, agronomy professor and William T. Frankenberger Professor of Soil Science at Iowa State University. “We’ve just been assuming that legume crops like soybeans don’t have a big emissions footprint because they don’t ...

$6 million grant drives potential treatment for common cause of vision loss toward the clinic

2024-11-20
The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), the state’s stem cell agency, has awarded a two-year, $6 million grant to a team at the USC Dr. Allen and Charlotte Ginsburg Institute for Biomedical Therapeutics and the USC Roski Eye Institute advancing a new treatment for one of the leading causes of blindness in older adults. The funding will enable the researchers to conduct preclinical studies needed before launching human trials. The investigators aim to accelerate progress in fighting dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD), which affects ...

Research aims to roll back contamination caused by toxic tires

2024-11-20
University of Delaware researchers have developed a method for mitigating the decontamination that tires release into the environment at the end of their lifespan. In a new study published in Nature Chemical Engineering, the team demonstrated a way to upgrade 6PPD – a molecule that provides UV protection to help the rubber found in tires last longer – into safe chemicals. The method would also turn the leftover crumb rubber into aromatics and carbon black, a soot-like material found in everything from pigments to cosmetics to electronics. ...

School social workers an underutilized resource

School social workers an underutilized resource
2024-11-20
Youth in America are experiencing a mental health crisis, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The CDC reports that an increasing number of students are experiencing symptoms of hopelessness, depression, and anxiety, along with thoughts of self-harm. One thing known to improve mental health among students is increased school connectedness—when students feel that the adults and peers in their school care about them as individuals in addition to their learning ability. Schools are working to improve their connectedness by adding social workers to their staff to help address the mental health concerns of students. However, ...

Increasing complexity challenges strategic management

Increasing complexity challenges strategic management
2024-11-20
The changes in society and the phenomena surrounding us are becoming more unexpected and interconnected than ever before. This increasing complexity challenges strategic management, making it harder to predict trends and developments. According to a new study from the University of Vaasa, Finland, increased complexity demands new approaches to strategic management. – In strategic management, it is essential to acknowledge the growth of complexity and understand how to influence complexity ...

Morton Arboretum tree root scientist recognized as top-cited researcher for second straight year

Morton Arboretum tree root scientist recognized as top-cited researcher for second straight year
2024-11-20
LISLE, Ill. (Nov. 20, 2024)— For the second year in a row, The Morton Arboretum’s Tree Root Biologist Luke McCormack, Ph.D., has been recognized as one of the most cited and influential researchers worldwide by global information services provider Clarivate’s esteemed annual list of “Highly Cited Researchers.” The 2024 list, released Nov. 19, includes influential researchers at universities, research institutes and commercial organizations around the world, who have demonstrated significant and broad influence in their research field(s). McCormack, who debuted ...

Scientists show electrical stimulation could be key to healthy tendons

2024-11-20
A new study by researchers at the University of Galway and the University of Limerick suggests that electrical stimulation might be essential for tendons to maintain their health, offering fresh possibilities in tendon repair and regeneration.  The research took place at the CÚRAM Research Centre for Medical Devices, funded through Taighde Éireann – Research Ireland, formerly Science Foundation Ireland. Tendons resist intense mechanical stress, while facilitating force transmission from muscles to bones. They are also piezoelectric, meaning that when they are stretched, they will produce an electric ...

University Hospitals only health system in northeast Ohio offering FDA-approved KISUNLA™ for treatment of Alzheimer’s disease

2024-11-20
CLEVELAND--University Hospitals Brain Health & Memory Center is now treating patients with KISUNLA™ (donanemab), a Food and Drug Administration-approved medication for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. UH is the only health system in Northeast Ohio currently offering these infusion treatments. Donanemab has shown promise in clinical trials and may be a treatment option for patients with mild cognitive impairment and mild dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease. “People with Alzheimer’s disease have an abnormal buildup of plaques in their brain ...

Real-world chemists are more diverse than generative AI images suggest

Real-world chemists are more diverse than generative AI images suggest
2024-11-20
Asking children “What does a scientist look like?” now results in more illustrations of women and people of color than decades ago. But do generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools also depict the diversity among scientists? Researchers reporting in the Journal of Chemical Education prompted AI image generators for portraits of chemists. They found that none of the collections accurately represents the gender, racial or disability diversity among real chemists today. Millions of images are being created by generative AI each day. And the output of these tools is only as good as their algorithms and the initial images used to train ...

Curiosity, images, and scientific exploration

Curiosity, images, and scientific exploration
2024-11-20
When we gaze at nature’s remarkable phenomena, we might feel a mix of awe, curiosity, and determination to understand what we are looking at. That is certainly a common response for MIT’s Alan Lightman, a trained physicist and prolific author of books about physics, science, and our understanding of the world around us.  “One of my favorite quotes from Einstein is to the effect that the most beautiful experience we can have is the mysterious,” Lightman says. “It’s the fundamental emotion that is the cradle of true art and true science.” Lightman explores those concepts in his latest book, “The ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Scientists unlock secrets behind flowering of the king of fruits

Texas A&M researchers illuminate the mysteries of icy ocean worlds

Prosthetic material could help reduce infections from intravenous catheters

Can the heart heal itself? New study says it can

Microscopic discovery in cancer cells could have a big impact

Rice researchers take ‘significant leap forward’ with quantum simulation of molecular electron transfer

Breakthrough new material brings affordable, sustainable future within grasp

How everyday activities inside your home can generate energy

Inequality weakens local governance and public satisfaction, study finds

Uncovering key molecular factors behind malaria’s deadliest strain

UC Davis researchers help decode the cause of aggressive breast cancer in women of color

Researchers discovered replication hubs for human norovirus

SNU researchers develop the world’s most sensitive flexible strain sensor

Tiny, wireless antennas use light to monitor cellular communication

Neutrality has played a pivotal, but under-examined, role in international relations, new research shows

Study reveals right whales live 130 years — or more

Researchers reveal how human eyelashes promote water drainage

Pollinators most vulnerable to rising global temperatures are flies, study shows

DFG to fund eight new research units

Modern AI systems have achieved Turing's vision, but not exactly how he hoped

Quantum walk computing unlocks new potential in quantum science and technology

Construction materials and household items are a part of a long-term carbon sink called the “technosphere”

First demonstration of quantum teleportation over busy Internet cables

Disparities and gaps in breast cancer screening for women ages 40 to 49

US tobacco 21 policies and potential mortality reductions by state

AI-driven approach reveals hidden hazards of chemical mixtures in rivers

Older age linked to increased complications after breast reconstruction

ESA and NASA satellites deliver first joint picture of Greenland Ice Sheet melting

Early detection model for pancreatic necrosis improves patient outcomes

Poor vascular health accelerates brain ageing

[Press-News.org] How educational attainment may impact memory and dementia risk later in life
A Rutgers researcher examines health outcomes of historical education policies