Job demands and dementia risk among male twin pairs.
Published
Journal Article
BACKGROUND: Job characteristics may influence dementia risk, but some types of job complexity remain to be examined. Twin studies provide a useful methodology to examine job differences between pairs who share many environmental and genetic influences. METHODS: Members of the NAS-NRC Twins Registry of World War II Veterans received a clinical evaluation for dementia and had job ratings from the Dictionary of Occupational Titles. RESULTS: Cotwin-control models (n = 220 pairs) indicated lower dementia risk 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 or more years, but not among those discordant between 3-5 years. Results were similar for Alzheimer's disease, and 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.
Full Text
Duke Authors
Cited Authors
- Potter, GG; Helms, MJ; Burke, JR; Steffens, DC; Plassman, BL
Published Date
- July 2007
Published In
Volume / Issue
- 3 / 3
Start / End Page
- 192 - 199
PubMed ID
- 18591984
Pubmed Central ID
- 18591984
Electronic International Standard Serial Number (EISSN)
- 1552-5279
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
- 10.1016/j.jalz.2007.04.377
Language
- eng
Conference Location
- United States