The contribution of almost 700 Catholic religious to an “innovative” study of decades on Alzheimer’s and dementia continues to offer important information to maintain “cognitive health” throughout life, researchers say.
Started in 1986 by the neurologist David Snowdon, the “study of the nuns” produced “fundamental findings” on “cognitive deterioration and related neuropathologies,” the researchers said in A historical review published in the magazine Alzheimer’s & Dementia last month.
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Kyra Clarke, a doctoral student at UT Health San Antonio and one of the authors of the February review, said Snowdon chose to use Catholic sisters for the monumental study after “realizing that studying the nuns had many advantages for research on dementia.”
“Normally, it is difficult to determine exactly what causes some people develop while others stay healthy, because people can have very different life, environments and biology styles: some smoke, others not; Some have better access to medical care than others; Some may have a greater genetic predisposition to the disease, ”he said.
“But the Catholic sisters of the same order share the same environment during most of their adult life: marriage stories, housing, nutrition, medical care, similar income and social networks,” he said.
“It is difficult to find a community of people with such consistent and comparable lifestyles. This makes it easier for what factors really increase or decrease the risk of dementia ”.
Snowdon launched the pilot study of the program in 1986 in cooperation with the educational sisters of Notre Dame (SSND), with a group of 678 sisters finally selected from among 1,000 candidates of what were then seven main convents throughout the country, including those of Chicago, Baltimore, Dallas and other places.
The age of the sisters at the beginning of the study ranged between 75 and 102 years. They all had similar life stories, while the vast majority were at least university graduates and almost 90% had been teachers at some point.
The researchers used a variety of methods to measure the progression of the cognitive function of the sisters later in their lives, including autobiographies that the nuns wrote before taking their votes, medical records, academic transcripts and questionnaires.
The sisters “agreed to participate in neuropsychological evaluations and allowed researchers to access personal records maintained by convents,” the researchers said; In addition, they were asked to accept brain donation after their death so that scientists study them.
Clarke said the sisters showed “extraordinary dedication and enthusiasm” for the study, particularly as demonstrated by the large number of them that they agreed to participate.
“A 66% participation rate is a truly impressive figure for a longitudinal study that requires participants to undergo extensive cognitive tests every year for the rest of their lives and also accept brain donation,” he said.
The inclusion of healthy religious and with cognitive impairment was a critical factor in the study, said the researchers, since “allowed the longitudinal monitoring of cognitive changes through annual evaluations.”
The high brain donation rate “provided the opportunity to compare the neuropathological findings of self -systemed brains of individuals with disabilities with those of healthy control brains, something that had historically been difficult.”
Study findings have significantly improved the understanding of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. A key discovery, according to Clarke, was that a greater cognitive capacity in childhood seems to protect against dementia.
“The researchers discovered that the sisters with the highest educational level and academic performance (according to the academic files preserved in the archives of the convent) obtained higher scores in cognitive evidence in old age and a lower risk of dementia,” he said. The religious sisters with better writing skills in early stages of life also presented a lower risk of dementia.
“The study of nuns really emphasized that maintaining cognitive health is a lifetime task and emphasized the importance of education and cognitive stimulation to reduce the risk of dementia,” said Clarke.
All the sisters who participated in the study have already died. In some cases, the investigation has acquired a personal meaning: several relatives of Margaret Flanagan, director of the study of current nuns at Ut Health, attended the Academy of Our Lady of Chicago, directed by the religious.
Meanwhile, researchers continue to meet with representatives of the SSND to provide updates on the ongoing data.
Scientists are “deeply grateful for their dedication to education and help the lives of others,” said Clarke.
“His kindness and generosity made the study of the nuns an emblematic and innovative contribution to research on dementia and continually inspires us to continue advancing towards the understanding and treatment of this weakening disease,” he said.
Translated and adapted by the ACI Press team. Originally published in CNA.
Daniel Payne
Daniel Payne is a senior editor of Catholic News Agency. He previously worked at College Fix and Just the News. He lives in Virginia with his family.