Complex jobs 'may protect memory'

People with mentally taxing jobs, including lawyers and graphic designers, may end up having better memory in old age, the BBC reported, citing research.

A study of more than 1,000 Scottish 70-year-olds found that those who had had complex jobs scored better on memory and thinking tests.

One theory is a more stimulating environment helps build up a "cognitive reserve" to help buffer the brain against age-related decline.

The research was reported in Neurology.

The team, from Heriot-Watt University, in Edinburgh, is now planning more work to look at how lifestyle and work interact to affect memory loss.

Those taking part in the study took tests designed to assess memory, processing speed and general thinking ability, as well as filling in a questionnaire about their working life.

The analysis showed that those whose jobs had required complex skills in dealing with data or people, such as management and teaching, had better scores on memory and thinking tests than those who had done less mentally intense jobs such as factory workers, bookbinders, or carpet layers.

To rule out that those with more complex jobs may have had higher thinking abilities in the first place, the researchers looked at scores they had achieved in the Scottish Mental Survey in 1947, when they were 11.

They found that the benefit was reduced, but there was still an association between having a mentally stimulating job, such as those including negotiation, mentoring or synthesis of data, and better cognitive ability years after retirement.

While the study did not look at biological reasons for the protective effect of certain jobs, potential explanations include that structural changes within the brain mean less damage is accumulated over time.