Thursday, February 05, 2009
New research is fine-tuning one older belief and standing another on its ear. In an article by HealthDay reporter Carolyn Colwell titled, "Education Doesn't Slow Alzheimer's Decline: Large, 14-year study finds no effect, contradicting previous research," several ideas once taken as fact are, at least...
I, too, was relieved to see this study, because for years the implication seemed to be that if you were smart, you wouldn't get Alzheimer's disease, and if you did get it, it was proof that you were not a citizen of Lake Woebegon, where everyone is above average! My college-educated mother died of Alzheimer's disease many years ago, and those earlier studies always felt like a slap in the face to her. People want sound bites and easy answers; the truth is always complex. The more important challenge is to join the journey of the person with AD, no matter where they are intellectually on the trail. See my website, www.wisernowalz.com for more of this philosophy I share with you.
Making generalizations is often hurtful, and these studies on education have gotten a lot of notice for the very reasons you mention. People take them personally. In the end, no one is a statistic, and it's hard to live with some of these "conclusions," as we all know so many exceptions. I hope, one day, the accumulated studies lead to useful information. So far, many of them just confuse the issues. But, they are there and it's best to talk about them.
Carol