Why do the Educated Lose Memory Faster?

By John M Grohol PsyD
October 24, 2007

Having more education may delay the onset of dementia, but once it comes, it appears it might come on more fiercely. A new study shows that those with more education lose their memory faster than those with less education.

The study found for each additional year of formal education, the rapid accelerated memory decline associated with oncoming dementia was delayed by approximately two and one half months.

However, once that accelerated decline commenced, the people with more education saw their rate of cognitive decline accelerate 4 percent faster for each additional year of education.

We reported on this story yesterday and the results appear to be non-intuitive. Shouldn’t education act as a barrier to helping people maintain a higher level of cognitive activity as they age?

The researchers suggest that because people with more education are diagnosed with dementia at a later date, the brain damage underlying the dementia may have been there all along, just masked. More educated people simply unconsciously hide their cognitive decline better.

This is a small study on older people, the researchers note, so we don’t yet know how generalizable are the results.

Dr. John Grohol is the CEO and founder of Psych Central. He has been writing about online behavior, mental health and psychology issues, and the intersection of technology and psychology since 1992.