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Job demands and dementia risk among male twin pairs
Author(s) -
Potter Guy G.,
Helms Michael J.,
Burke James R.,
Steffens David C.,
Plassman Brenda L.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
alzheimer's and dementia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.713
H-Index - 118
eISSN - 1552-5279
pISSN - 1552-5260
DOI - 10.1016/j.jalz.2007.04.377
Subject(s) - dementia , twin study , vocational education , sibling , zygosity , psychology , developmental psychology , disease , gerontology , medicine , clinical psychology , biology , genetics , heritability , pedagogy , pathology
Background Job characteristics may influence risk of dementia, but some types of job complexity remain to be examined. Twin studies provide a useful methodology for examining job differences between pairs who share many environmental and genetic influences. Methods Members of the National Academy of Sciences‐National Research Council's Twins Registry of World War II Veterans received a clinical evaluation for dementia and job ratings from the Dictionary of Occupational Titles. Results Co‐twin control models (n = 220 pairs) indicated lower risk of dementia with greater job demands of reasoning, mathematics, language, and vocational training, with comparable results in case‐control models (n = 425 cases). These effects were significant among twin pairs discordant for ≥6 years, but not among those discordant between 3–5 years. Results were similar for Alzheimer's disease, and the main effects were not further explained by zygosity or apolipoprotein E genotype. Conclusions Jobs that utilize data, academic skills, and extensive vocational training may protect against dementia. However, in twin pairs, these effects only emerged among individuals who remained free of dementia several years after onset in their sibling.