Higher education aids in the cognitive and intellectual growth of individuals in various aspects. A study published in the Lancet shows a close link between educational attainment and dementia rates, emphasizing that quality education generally contributes to human health. The researchers point out that public health policies in countries should address numerous issues, including aging diseases highlighted by dementia and Alzheimer’s, which can be mitigated by connecting education to national health policies, according to Medical News Today.
The study's findings indicated that in Japan, which has the highest proportion of elderly people globally, approximately 29.2% of its population was over 65 years old in 2021, amounting to around 36 million individuals. Among them, only 3.5 million suffered from dementia, attributed to their focus on educational attainment.
It is expected that by 2050, 16% of the world's population will be over 65 years old, suffering from dementia, compared to just 8% in 2010. Anticipating how the burden of disease may increase alongside an aging population can help policymakers improve healthcare for the elderly. Recently, researchers developed an accurate simulation to predict how dementia rates in Japan will change by 2043.
They found a clear increase in diseases related to heart issues, diabetes, cancer, as well as depression, alongside dementia and Alzheimer’s. The researchers also discovered that dementia rates would rise from 3.7 years to 4 years for women and from 1.9 years to 2.1 years for men across all educational groups.
Furthermore, age, gender, and education significantly influence rates of cognitive impairment and dementia. They found that by 2043, 28.7% of women over 75 who did not receive secondary education would suffer from dementia and Alzheimer’s, requiring complex care. In contrast, only 6.5% of women aged 75 and older with a university education or higher are expected to encounter dementia issues.
To understand why dementia rates have decreased over time in Japan, experts explained that increased educational attainment may play an important role in the overall reduction of dementia rates. They noted that by 2035, over 60% of men will be university graduates, whereas as of 2016, only 43% of men aged 55 to 64 had a university education.
Additionally, a skills survey conducted by the OECD published in 2013 indicated that those holding high school diplomas in Japan possess job-relevant skills that surpass those of university graduates in Europe and the United States.
