Lifetime occupation, age of retirement and risk of dementia

Cognitive reserve encompasses both neural reserve (capacity/efficiency of the brain prepathological damage) and neural compensation (recruitment of other brain areas to compensate when there is damage). It is typically operationalised using education level and occupation (as surrogate markers of lifetime experiences which build skills), and can also incorporate things like cognitive stimulating leisure activities and social interaction. It is well established that increasing cognitive reserve is associated with a reduced risk of dementia and some evidence that it could also help protect against 'normal' age-related decline. This project will investigate whether specific types of occupations are associated with better cognitive reserve and a reduced risk of dementia. This project will suit a student interested in epidemiology and keen to develop further skills in biostatistical analysis methods. All data is already available and the results of this work will lead to a publication.