Which types of mental work demands may be associated with reduced risk of dementia?
BACKGROUND
Previous studies have demonstrated that an overall high level of mental work demands decreased dementia risk. In our study, we investigated whether this effect is driven by specific mental work demands and whether it is exposure dependent.


METHODS
Patients aged 75+ years were recruited from general practitioners and participated in up to seven assessment waves (every 1.5 years) of the longitudinal AgeCoDe study. Analyses of the impact of specific mental work demands on dementia risk were carried out via multivariate regression modeling (n = 2315).


RESULTS
We observed a significantly lower dementia risk in individuals with a higher level of "information processing" (HR, 0.888), "pattern detection" (HR, 0.878), "mathematics" (HR, 0.878), and "creativity" (HR, 0.878). Yet, exposure-dependent effects were only significant for "information processing" and "pattern detection."


CONCLUSIONS
Our longitudinal observations suggest that dementia risk may be reduced by some but not all types of mental work demands.
Institute of Social Medicine, Occupational Health and Public Health (ISAP), University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany; LIFE-Leipzig Research Center for Civilization Diseases, Universität Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany. Electronic address: francisca.then@medizin.uni-leipzig.de.
Francisca S
FS
Then
Institute of Social Medicine, Occupational Health and Public Health (ISAP), University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany; LIFE-Leipzig Research Center for Civilization Diseases, Universität Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.
Tobias
T
Luck
Department of Psychiatry, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
Kathrin
K
Heser
Department of Primary Medical Care, Center for Psychosocial Medicine, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
Annette
A
Ernst
Department of Primary Medical Care, Center for Psychosocial Medicine, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
Tina
T
Posselt
Work Group Medical Statistics and IT-Infrastructure, Institute for General Practice, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany.
Birgitt
B
Wiese
Work Group Medical Statistics and IT-Infrastructure, Institute for General Practice, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany.
Silke
S
Mamone
Department of Health Economics and Health Services Research, Hamburg Center for Health Economics, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
Christian
C
Brettschneider
Department of Health Economics and Health Services Research, Hamburg Center for Health Economics, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
Hans-Helmut
HH
König
Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty, Mannheim/Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany.
Siegfried
S
Weyerer
Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty, Mannheim/Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany.
Jochen
J
Werle
Department of Psychiatry, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany.
Edelgard
E
Mösch
Department of Psychiatry, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany.
Horst
H
Bickel
Department of General Practice, Medical Faculty, Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany.
Angela
A
Fuchs
Department of General Practice, Medical Faculty, Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany.
Michael
M
Pentzek
Department of Psychiatry, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany; German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Bonn, Germany.
Wolfgang
W
Maier
Department of Primary Medical Care, Center for Psychosocial Medicine, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
Martin
M
Scherer
Department of Psychiatry, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany; German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Bonn, Germany.
Michael
M
Wagner
Institute of Social Medicine, Occupational Health and Public Health (ISAP), University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.
Steffi G
SG
Riedel-Heller
D000368:Aged; D003704:Dementia / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005858:Germany; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008606:Mental Processes; D009790:Occupations; D011336:Probability; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors
Cognitive functioning; Cognitive reserve; Dementia; Longitudinal cohort study; Mental demands; Risk factors; Work environment