Having an“interesting”and mentally stimulating jobcuts your risk of dementia by a third, study claims

鄭敏靜

Having an interesting job in your forties may slash your risk of getting dementia in old age， a study has suggested.

一項(xiàng)研究顯示，四十多歲時從事有趣的工作可以大大降低老年患癡呆癥的風(fēng)險。

Researchers claim mental stimulation may stave off the onslaught of the memory-robbing condition by around 18 months.

研究人員指出，腦力鍛煉可以將癡呆癥發(fā)作的時間推遲約18個月。

Academics examined more than 100，000 participants and tracked them for nearly two decades.

研究人員在近二十年時間內(nèi)追蹤調(diào)查了逾10萬人。

They spotted a third fewer cases of dementia among people who had engaging jobs which involved demanding tasks and more control — such as solicitors and doctors， compared to adults in 'passive' roles — such as cashiers.

他們發(fā)現(xiàn)，與收銀員等被動型職業(yè)相比，律師、醫(yī)生等要求高、自主性也更強(qiáng)的從業(yè)者患癡呆癥的比例少三分之一。

And those who found their own work interesting also had lower levels of proteins in their blood that have been linked with dementia.

另外，從事有趣工作的人血液中與癡呆癥相關(guān)的蛋白質(zhì)含量也更低。

Keeping the brain active by challenging yourself regularly likely reduces the risk of dementia by building up its ability to cope with disease， experts say.

專家指出，經(jīng)常挑戰(zhàn)自己來保持大腦活躍有助于提高大腦應(yīng)對疾病的能力，從而降低患癡呆癥的風(fēng)險。

A plethora of studies have already suggested mental stimulation could prevent or postpone the onset of dementia.

已有大量研究表明，腦力鍛煉可以預(yù)防或推遲癡呆癥發(fā)作。

The new study looked at jobs， which the academic said involved more engagement than hobbies， which often last less than an hour.

新研究針對的是對腦力要求高的工作，研究人員表示，人們在工作中從事的活動比愛好更多，后者每日占用時間通常不到一小時。

It was carried out by researchers from University College London， the University of Helsinki and Johns Hopkins University.

這項(xiàng)研究是由倫敦大學(xué)學(xué)院、赫爾辛基大學(xué)和約翰斯·霍普金斯大學(xué)的研究人員開展的。

They looked into the cognitive stimulation and dementia risk in 107，896 volunteers， who were regularly quizzed about their job.

他們定期了解107，896名志愿者工作中的認(rèn)知刺激情況，并分析了他們患癡呆癥的風(fēng)險。

Volunteers jobs included interesting roles such as government officers， directors， physicians， dentists and solicitors.

志愿者的工作包括政府官員、導(dǎo)演、內(nèi)科醫(yī)生、牙醫(yī)和律師等有趣的職位。

Jobs with low brain stimulation included supermarket cashiers， vehicle drivers and machine operators.

不太需要用腦的志愿者工作包括超市收銀員、司機(jī)和機(jī)器操作員。

The volunteers — who had an average age of around 45 — were tracked for between 14 and 40 years.

這些志愿者的平均年齡約為45歲，被追蹤調(diào)查的時間從14年到40年不等。

Jobs were classed as cognitively stimulating if they included demanding tasks and came with high job control.

如果一份工作包含要求高的任務(wù)并具有高度自主性，這份工作就被歸類為認(rèn)知刺激型。

Non-stimulating 'passive' occupations included those with low demands and little decision-making power.

不能刺激認(rèn)知的“被動型”職業(yè)包含那些要求低、缺乏自主權(quán)的工作。

Experts spotted 4.8 cases of dementia per 10，000 person years among those with interesting jobs， equating to 0.8 percent of the group.

專家發(fā)現(xiàn)，在那些從事有趣工作的人群中，每年每1萬人中有4.8例癡呆癥患者，只占該群體的0.8%。

Meanwhile， there were 7.3 cases per 10，000 person years among those with boring careers （1.2 percent）.

與此同時，從事無趣職業(yè)的人群中，每年每1萬人中有7.3例癡呆癥患者，占該群體的1.2%。

Among people with jobs that were in the middle of these two categories， there were 6.8 cases per 10，000 person years （1.12 percent）.

工作有趣程度介于這兩者之間的受訪者中，每年每1萬人中有6.8例癡呆癥患者，占該群體的1.12%。

The study， published in the British Medical Journal， also looked at three protein levels in the blood among another group of volunteers.

這項(xiàng)發(fā)表在《英國醫(yī)學(xué)雜志》上的研究還觀察了另一組志愿者血液中三種蛋白質(zhì)的含量。

These proteins are thought to stop the brain forming new connections， increasing the risk of dementia.

據(jù)認(rèn)為，這些蛋白質(zhì)可以阻止大腦建立新聯(lián)系，增加患癡呆癥的風(fēng)險。

People with interesting jobs had lower levels of three proteins considered to be tell-tale signs of the condition.

從事有趣工作的人大腦中與癡呆有關(guān)的這三種蛋白質(zhì)的含量更低。

The researchers noted the study was only observational， meaning it cannot establish cause and that other factors could be at play.

不過，研究人員指出，這項(xiàng)研究只是觀察性的，這意味著不能確定工作有趣和癡呆癥之間有因果關(guān)系，也不能排除其他因素的作用。