UK School Law Creates Natural Experiment Linking Extra Education to Lower Dementia Risk
A new study published in PNAS suggests that staying in school for one additional year may causally reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD). Researchers utilized the 1972 UK Raising of School-Leaving Age Act, which mandated that students born after September 1, 1957, stay in school until age 16 instead of 15. By comparing health outcomes of those born just before and after this cutoff using UK Biobank data, the study found a significant decline in ADRD incidence for the 'treated' group. This extra year of education appeared to mitigate dementia risk even among individuals with high genetic susceptibility, such as those carrying the APOE4 gene, suggesting that modifiable life experiences can influence disease outcomes despite genetic predispositions.