We all have days where we would rather be on the couch than go to work.
They pay the bills. Experts have warned that your job could also predict your chance of developing dementia.
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The condition is thought to affect around 676,000 people in England.
Doctors warn that people in low-paid positions are at high risk of contracting the disease.
In the UK, some of the worst-paid jobs include cleaners, catering assistants and even teaching assistants – with average salaries under £12,000.
Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health experts discovered that low wages are associated significantly with memory decline.
These jobs were associated with hypertension, obesity, and depression in the past, experts stated.
The minimum wage for Brits is £9.50 per hour and in the US the lowest rate is $7.25-per-hour – which equates to around £6.15.
Writing in the American Journal of Epidemiology, doctors said one simple solution to the issue would be to raise wages to $15-per-hour (£12.30).
Adina Zeki al Hazzouri, PhD, senior author and assistant professor of epidemiology at Columbia Mailman School, Columbia Butler Aging Center, stated that a change in policy would benefit cognitive health.
“Future work should rigorously examine the number of dementia cases and excess years of cognitive aging that could be prevented under different hypothetical scenarios that would increase the minimum hourly wage,”They were also added.
Researchers examined data about over 2,879 people who were born between 1936-1941.
They compared those with a history of low earnings to those who have never received a small salary.
The experts also looked at those who earned low wages, or always earned low wages based on wages earned from 1992 to 2004.
They then examined the relationship between memory decline and the next 12 year period, 2004-2016.
What are the main signs of dementia?
Different causes can cause dementia symptoms. Common symptoms are:
Cognitive changes
- Memory loss is often noticed by a spouse, or another person.
- confusion and disorientation.
Difficulty:
- Communicating or finding the right words
- Following a conversation
- Visual and spatial skills, such as the ability to get lost while driving
- Problem-solving or reasoning
- handling complex tasks
- Organising and planning
- Motor functions and coordination
Psychological changes
- Personality changes
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Unacceptable behavior
- Paranoia
- Mobilization
- Hallucinations
These are the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease.
- memory problems, such as regularly forgetting recent events, names and faces
- asking questions repetitively
- Increasing difficulties in tasks and activities that require organization and planning
- Confusion in unfamiliar settings
- difficulty finding the right words
- difficulty with numbers and/or handling money in shops
- Anxiety and withdrawal can lead to a greater sense of isolation
Experts have found that people with low incomes experience slower memory decline than those with higher wages.
A 10-year period saw them experience an extra year of cognitive aging.
Thus, the cognitive aging experienced by low wage earners over a period of 10 years would be equal to that experienced by those who did not earn low wages for 11 years.
There are many factors that can increase your risk of developing dementia, as previously reported.
Researchers looked at participants’ performance on memory and attention tests, and how this was impacted by eight modifiable risk factors for the syndrome.
These were:
- Low education (less that a high school diploma).
- Hearing loss
- Traumatic brain injury
- Substance abuse or alcoholism
- Hypertension is high blood pressure
- Smoking (currently, or within the last four years)
- Diabetes
- Depression
Each factor contributed to a decline in cognitive performance that was as high as three years.
A combination of three risk factors can lead to cognitive decline equivalent to up to nine years.
As people grew older, the effects of risk factors increased.