Reevaluating the role of education on cognitive decline and brain aging in longitudinal cohorts across 33 Western countriesDepartment of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Institute of Neurosciences, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain; Institut Guttmann, Institut Universitari de Neurorehabilitació adscrit a la UAB, Barcelona, Spain; Institut d’Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Barcelona, Spain.
Center for Lifespan Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany; Department of Psychology, MSB Medical School Berlin, Berlin, Germany; Max Planck UCL Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research, Berlin, Germany.
Institut Guttmann, Institut Universitari de Neurorehabilitació adscrit a la UAB, Barcelona, Spain; Fundació Institut d’Investigació en Ciències de la Salut Germans Trias i Pujol, Barcelona, Spain.
Center for Lifespan Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany.
Center for Lifespan Changes in Brain and Cognition, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
Max Planck UCL Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research, Berlin, Germany; Center for Environmental Neuroscience, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany; Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
Center for Lifespan Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany; Max Planck UCL Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research, Berlin, Germany.
Department of Sociology and Human Geography, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
Center for Lifespan Changes in Brain and Cognition, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
Hinda and Arthur Marcus Institute for Aging Research, Deanna and Sidney Wolk Center for Memory Health, Hebrew SeniorLife, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Neurology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Institute of Neurosciences, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain; Institut d’Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Barcelona, Spain.
Center for Lifespan Changes in Brain and Cognition, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
Institut Guttmann, Institut Universitari de Neurorehabilitació adscrit a la UAB, Barcelona, Spain.
Center for Lifespan Changes in Brain and Cognition, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
Oslo Delirium Research Group, Institute of Clinical Medicine, Campus Ahus, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway; Department of Geriatric Medicine, Akershus University Hospital, Lørenskog, Norway.
Center for Lifespan Changes in Brain and Cognition, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway; Computational Radiology and Artificial Intelligence, Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway.
Center for Lifespan Changes in Brain and Cognition, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
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2025 (English)In: Nature Medicine, ISSN 1078-8956, E-ISSN 1546-170X, Vol. 31, p. 2967-2976Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
Why education is linked to higher cognitive function in aging is fiercely debated. Leading theories propose that education reduces brain decline in aging and enhances tolerance to brain pathology or that it does not affect cognitive decline but, rather, reflects higher early-life cognitive function. To test these theories, we analyzed 407,356 episodic memory scores from 170,795 participants older than 50 years, alongside 15,157 brain magnetic resonance imaging scans from 6,472 participants across 33 Western countries. More education was associated with better memory, larger intracranial volume and slightly larger volume of memory-sensitive brain regions. However, education did not protect against age-related decline or weakened effects of brain decline on cognition. The most parsimonious explanation for the results is that the associations reflect factors present early in life, including propensity of individuals with certain traits to pursue more education. Although education has numerous benefits, the notion that it provides protection against cognitive or brain decline is not supported.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Nature Publishing Group, 2025. Vol. 31, p. 2967-2976
National Category
Neurosciences Geriatrics
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-242767DOI: 10.1038/s41591-025-03828-yISI: 001537867500001PubMedID: 40721513Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-105012218309OAI: oai:DiVA.org:umu-242767DiVA, id: diva2:1987826
2025-08-082025-08-082025-12-12Bibliographically approved