Megan Lenehan

This research aims to investigate whether formal education undertaken after the age of 50 could have a protective effect on a person’s cognitive function as they age. Approximately 400 healthy adults aged between 50 and 79 years will have their memory, mental processing speed and attention skills assessed annually over a period of three years. 

Most participants will undertake a minimum 12 months part-time study at the University of Tasmania, but some participants will not engage in any further university study. The two groups will then be compared to see whether the additional education results in reduced rate of cognitive decline over time.

To date, research is yet to find out what causes Alzheimer’s dementia or how to cure the disease. As such, it is important to discover ways to reduce a person’s risk of developing Alzheimer’s dementia. One way to do this is to identify the factors which enhance a person’s cognitive functioning in later-life. Various life experiences have been linked to a reduced risk for dementia and a reduced rate of age-related cognitive decline. These include: physical activity, social involvement, increased cognitive activity (e.g. computer use, crosswords, and puzzles), a mentally stimulating occupation and educational attainment. It is also promising that previous research has shown that increasing levels of physical activity or cognitive engagement in later-life improves cognitive function. Considering this, it seems plausible that providing a complex and mentally stimulating environment through a period of later-life education will also reveal cognitive benefits.

This research aims to investigate whether a period of education after the age of 50 years, has a protective effect on a person’s cognitive functioning as they age. To examine this approximately 400 healthy adults aged between 50 and 79 years will have their memory, processing speed and attention skills assessed annually over a period of 3 years. Most participants will undertake a minimum 12 months part-time study at the University of Tasmania, but some participants will not engage in any further university study. The outcome of these two groups will then be compared to see whether a period of additional education in later-life corresponds to a reduced rate of cognitive decline over time.

If education proves to be beneficial to cognition as people age, a period education during later-life could be used as an intervention to: (i) enhance cognitive performance (ii) reduce the rate of age-related cognitive decline; (iii) delay the onset of potential cognitive impairments; and (iv) delay the onset of Alzheimer’s dementia. This would save millions of dollars in Government Health Care spending because it would delay the need for institutional care, biding people more time to live and function independently.

Ms Lenehan is a PhD candidate at the Wicking Dementia Research and Education Centre, University of Tasmania.