Dementia/Alzheimer’s Urban Legend Demystified and Exposed
Thank
you, Dr. Harry “Rick” Moody, for forwarding this article to me about the dementia/retirement
MYTH that has been perpetuated in the scholarly literature. Just because it was printed in a scholarly,
peer-reviewed journal or presented at a scientific does not make it truth. There are unscrupulous and biased researchers
with out of control egos who do not adhere to protocols of conducting scholarly
research. Sometimes, political bias or hidden agendas creep in. I am a reviewer for two peer-reviewed publications and I can tell you that bias and flawed thinking is usually identified in
the blind peer review and the study is not published until the bias and flaws
are removed. Unfortunately, some slip
through. This study is a perfect example
of research gone awry and presenting biased, flawed findings. These flawed findings made their way into CBS
NEWS, USA Today, NBC News, Alzheimer’s Weekly, AARP News, Medical Daily, and
numerous other news sources worldwide.
Problem is, it is not true!
After
reading Dr. Moody’s article [below], I dug into the research myself. I found the principal investigator, Dr.
Carole Dufouil [France] presenting her findings at the 2013 Alzheimer’s
Association scientific meeting on YouTube.
I then read the study by Dufouil et al. (2013) and I concur that the
findings were biased and misinterpreted using faulty cause/effect. Read Dr. Moody’s article below:
DELAYING RETIREMENT = LOWER DEMENTIA ? ? ?
Is it really true that delaying retirement will reduce your risk of Alzheimer's for each year that you continue working? That claim attracted my attention because, retired at 71, I wondered what the truth of it was-- as I'm sure others did.
When you go to the source of the claims you do find the article in a legitimate neurology journal. But the article is entirely based on a correlational study, alleged to support the "lose-it-or-use-it" idea: i.e., keep working, keep cognitively stimulated, keep engaged, and you lower your risk of dementia. There may be some truth to this, but the study in the journal doesn't prove it.
Unfortunately, the old saying "Correlation is not causation" still remains true. Here's an example. Suppose someone said that patients admitted to a hospital emergency room or ICU have a high death rate (true enough). Would you conclude, if you were threatened by a heart attack, that it's a bad idea to go to the emergency room because of the correlation of admission with death rates? It's an absurd example, but it makes the point about correlation and causation.
This example shows why sloppy thinking can be dangerous to your health. It turns out that there are lots of factors associated with higher probability for dementia, such as cardiovascular diseases, which can be an independent cause of dementia. Is it possible that people with such co-morbidities would be inclined to retire earlier than others in better health? Is it possible that other socio-economic variables could also explain this difference? Yes, it's not only possible, but likely: correlation is not causation.
Is it a good idea to work longer and delay retirement? The answer is, It all depends. Keep in mind that a large body of research, going back more than 50 years, supports the finding that retirement itself is not bad for your health. People who don't like retirement don't want to accept this. But they probably haven't read the vast body of research on the effects of retirement. The belief that "retirement causes dementia" must be dismissed as an urban legend, like belief that aluminum pots cause dementia.
One of the more pernicious consequences of this urban legend is linked to the current campaign against retirement, a trend now gaining ground in political circles. Specifically, there are proposals to raise the age of eligibility for Social Security. I can hear the justification already: "Yes, we're encouraging you to delay retirement, but it's for your own good. You'll be healthier and have less risk of dementia." Be suspicious, be very suspicious of people proposing to cut your benefits "for your own good." Pay more attention to proven risk factors for dementia that may remain within our control.
For more details, see:
http://www.neurologyreviews.com/the-publication/news-in-the-spotlight/article/delaying-retirement-may-reduce-risk-for-dementia/6fd3718ca3075392b772ff125437b65f.html
Is it really true that delaying retirement will reduce your risk of Alzheimer's for each year that you continue working? That claim attracted my attention because, retired at 71, I wondered what the truth of it was-- as I'm sure others did.
When you go to the source of the claims you do find the article in a legitimate neurology journal. But the article is entirely based on a correlational study, alleged to support the "lose-it-or-use-it" idea: i.e., keep working, keep cognitively stimulated, keep engaged, and you lower your risk of dementia. There may be some truth to this, but the study in the journal doesn't prove it.
Unfortunately, the old saying "Correlation is not causation" still remains true. Here's an example. Suppose someone said that patients admitted to a hospital emergency room or ICU have a high death rate (true enough). Would you conclude, if you were threatened by a heart attack, that it's a bad idea to go to the emergency room because of the correlation of admission with death rates? It's an absurd example, but it makes the point about correlation and causation.
This example shows why sloppy thinking can be dangerous to your health. It turns out that there are lots of factors associated with higher probability for dementia, such as cardiovascular diseases, which can be an independent cause of dementia. Is it possible that people with such co-morbidities would be inclined to retire earlier than others in better health? Is it possible that other socio-economic variables could also explain this difference? Yes, it's not only possible, but likely: correlation is not causation.
Is it a good idea to work longer and delay retirement? The answer is, It all depends. Keep in mind that a large body of research, going back more than 50 years, supports the finding that retirement itself is not bad for your health. People who don't like retirement don't want to accept this. But they probably haven't read the vast body of research on the effects of retirement. The belief that "retirement causes dementia" must be dismissed as an urban legend, like belief that aluminum pots cause dementia.
One of the more pernicious consequences of this urban legend is linked to the current campaign against retirement, a trend now gaining ground in political circles. Specifically, there are proposals to raise the age of eligibility for Social Security. I can hear the justification already: "Yes, we're encouraging you to delay retirement, but it's for your own good. You'll be healthier and have less risk of dementia." Be suspicious, be very suspicious of people proposing to cut your benefits "for your own good." Pay more attention to proven risk factors for dementia that may remain within our control.
For more details, see:
http://www.neurologyreviews.com/the-publication/news-in-the-spotlight/article/delaying-retirement-may-reduce-risk-for-dementia/6fd3718ca3075392b772ff125437b65f.html
