A new scientific study from the UK shows that staying in school for one extra year can lower the chances of getting dementia later in life. Dementia is a serious illness that affects memory and thinking, usually in older people. The research looked at a law change in Britain in 1972, which made students stay in school until age 16 instead of 15. Scientists compared the records of over 100,000 adults to see how this one extra year of school affected their risk of dementia.

The most important reason for this study was to see if having more education, not just family background or money, directly helps protect the brain. The researchers used this change in the law as a natural way to separate the effect of education from other things like wealth or genetics. They also looked at people with a higher risk of dementia because of their genes.

The main result showed people who stayed in school longer had fewer cases of dementia, even among those with a family risk. This suggests that education can help brain health for many years. The researchers plan to keep studying these people as they age to see if this effect continues.