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Peer-reviewedCC BY 4.0Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

Education reduces dementia incidence and mitigates genetic risk

  • Silvia H. Barcellos1,2,3
  • Leandro S. Carvalho3,4
  • Kenneth M. Langa5,6
  • Sneha Nimmagadda4
  • Patrick Turley3,4
6 affiliations
  1. 1La Follette School of Public Affairs, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706
  2. 2Department of Population Health Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53726
  3. 3Center for Economic and Social Research, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089
  4. 4Department of Economics, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089
  5. 5Department of Internal Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109
  6. 6Survey Research Center, Survey Research Center, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48106
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Abstract

There is little causal evidence on factors that can protect individuals against Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias (ADRD) risk. We study the causal effect of education on ADRD, exploiting a regression discontinuity generated by a compulsory schooling reform. ADRD was ascertained based on medical history, hospital records, and death registries, addressing concerns about selective sample attrition. We find that education reduces incidence of ADRD. Using molecular genetic data, we show that the reform weakened the relationship between genetics and ADRD incidence, implying genetic risk of dementia is not immutable and can be modified by social policy.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{barcellos2026education,
  title = {{Education reduces dementia incidence and mitigates genetic risk}},
  author = {Silvia H. Barcellos and Leandro S. Carvalho and Kenneth M. Langa and Sneha Nimmagadda and Patrick Turley},
  journal = {Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.1073/pnas.2529506123},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2529506123},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Education reduces dementia incidence and mitigates genetic risk
AU  - Silvia H. Barcellos
AU  - Leandro S. Carvalho
AU  - Kenneth M. Langa
AU  - Sneha Nimmagadda
AU  - Patrick Turley
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/23
JO  - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
DO  - 10.1073/pnas.2529506123
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2529506123
AB  - There is little causal evidence on factors that can protect individuals against Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias (ADRD) risk. We study the causal effect of education on ADRD, exploiting a regression discontinuity generated by a compulsory schooling reform. ADRD was ascertained based on medical history, hospital records, and death registries, addressing concerns about selective sample attrition. We find that education reduces incidence of ADRD. Using molecular genetic data, we show that the reform weakened the relationship between genetics and ADRD incidence, implying genetic risk of dementia is not immutable and can be modified by social policy.
SN  - 0027-8424
SN  - 1091-6490
ER  -