Alzheimer's is a pervasive and devastating disease. An estimated 6.9 million Americans were living with this common type of dementia in 2024, and that number is expected to grow by 2060 unless medical breakthroughs alter its course. The condition is also the fifth-leading cause of death among those 65 and over.
With Alzheimer's becoming increasingly common within a rapidly aging population, exploring ways to reduce the risk is vital.
That's why a recent study suggesting certain careers may reduce Alzheimer's risk is so important to understand — not, of course, because everyone should change their job to avoid dementia, but because understanding why those jobs have a protective effect can be important in identifying new methods of disease prevention.
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These two jobs appear to lower dementia risk
To understand whether doing certain work can affect the chances of developing Alzheimer's, researchers reviewed death certificates from the National Vital Statistics System in the United States that also included occupation.
They discovered that among the 443 occupations studied, workers in two particular career fields had a noticeably lower risk of developing his condition.
The two jobs that appeared to significantly lower the risk were taxi driver and ambulance driver. In fact, just 0.91% of taxi driver deaths were attributed to Alzheimer's, while only 1.03% of ambulance drivers died of this disease. By comparison, 1.82% of CEOs died of Alzheimer's, which is fairly close to the overall average death rate from this dementia variant.
Although the difference may not seem very substantial when looking at the raw percentages, ultimately, these numbers show that ambulance drivers and taxi drivers experience around 40% fewer Alzheimer's-related deaths compared with the general population.
Why are taxi and ambulance drivers experiencing a lower Alzheimer's risk?
While considering the link between specific careers and a reduced risk is important, determining why this link exists is even more essential. Developing a deeper understanding of factors affecting Alzheimer's risk increases the likelihood of finding a cure or at least identifying effective prevention methods.
Fortunately, experts were able to determine two key factors that shed more light on the potential reasons for the low prevalence of the disease among taxi and ambulance drivers.
First was the fact that other transportation professionals did not experience a decline in risk. Aircraft pilots and ship captains both had higher-than-average rates of Alzheimer's disease at 2.34% and 2.12%, respectively. Bus drivers, on the other hand, had a 1.6% death rate from the condition, which is closer to the average among all workers.
Second, ambulance and taxi drivers did not experience lower rates of other types of dementia beyond Alzheimer's.
One possible explanation for the lower risk is that both taxi and ambulance drivers must regularly exercise their spatial and navigational skills in real time. Moreover, they must do so much more often than other transportation professionals because ambulance and taxi drivers regularly travel different routes in unfamiliar locations, rather than traveling the same route regularly.
Because they must adjust to new conditions in unfamiliar areas, taxi and ambulance drivers may use their hippocampus more regularly, as this is the part of the brain that's exercised when deploying these skills. This theory is also supported by older studies that demonstrated taxi drivers may experience enlargement in parts of the hippocampus.
“Our results highlight the possibility that neurological changes in the hippocampus or elsewhere among taxi and ambulance drivers may account for the lower rates of Alzheimer’s disease,” senior author Anupam B. Jena, MD, PhD, a physician in the Department of Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital said of the findings.
This study doesn't imply that relying on GPS navigation apps while driving will cause Alzheimer's, but there is evidence that GPS can help people with mild dementia avoid getting lost.
Translating this study into action for you
There is, of course, a limit to the number of people who can work as taxi or ambulance drivers, but identifying the lower rates of Alzheimer's among people within these professions provides clues into how those concerned about the disease could reduce their risk.
For example, activities like outdoor orienting, which experts have revealed can help develop spatial memory, could help workers in other professions strengthen crucial areas of the brain.
Past research has also revealed that dancing challenges the brain in important ways, especially when learning complex steps such as the waltz and swing dancing. As with navigation, dancing requires the brain to manage an internal three-dimensional map; however, instead of remembering a route, a dancer must recall a sequence of steps and where to place their body.
Games, puzzles and continued learning are associated with a lower dementia risk, including spatially challenging games like jigsaw puzzles. But what about 3D versions of games? (Remember Dr. Spock's three-dimensional chess game in Star Trek?) Some studies have shown that playing 3D video games may keep older players sharp. For a truly mind-bending experience, try downloading the app for Monument Valley on your phone, desktop or tablet. Your avatar will travel through a beautiful world by rotating building pieces; it's much more difficult than it sounds.
Ultimately, maintaining a strong mind and body can only help you. While it may not directly prevent Alzheimer's, challenging your brain's spatial awareness and memory can help you maintain overall good mental and physical health for as long as possible as you enter older age. It is worth the effort to reduce your overall disease risk and, hopefully, enjoy a happier, healthier retirement.
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