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Analysis and Health

Does education help build a cognitive reserve to ward off dementia?

Spending more time at school could keep you sharp into old age, but there are other factors that might explain the effect

By Liam Drew

7 March 2025

Just one extra year of schooling could make all the difference to your cognitive health

SolStock/Getty Images

In 1972, the UK government raised the minimum school-leaver’s age from 15 to 16, with the goal of giving more students intellectual skills for modern occupations. Now, as these teens pass though their sixties, another benefit may be emerging: a lower risk of dementia. But with research from other groups muddying the waters, this relationship is far from clear-cut.

The idea that education protects against dementia isn’t new. Yaakov Stern at Columbia University in New York proposed it in…

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