A new study shows that people who spend more time in school may recover faster and better from a moderate to severe brain injury compared to those with less years of education.
Johns Hopkins University scientists in Baltimore suggest that adults who earned at least one undergraduate degree were seven times more likely to fully recover from traumatic brain injuries than those who did not earn a high school diploma.
The research studied people who developed moderate to severe traumatic brain injuries from falls and motor vehicle accidents. Each of the controlled group was rushed to the emergency room and spent a considerable amount of time in the hospital for inpatient rehabilitation after the injury. The participants were then divided by education level. 769 people aged 23 years old and above were studied and of the subjects, 185 (24 percent) participants did not have a high school diploma, 390 (51 percent) participants spent 12 to 15 years in school or have a high school or a post-secondary diploma and 194 (25 percent) participants have a college degree or spent 16 years or more of education.
In one year, 219 (28 percent) participants had fully recovered and were fit to work or return to school. The study showed that 23 people (10 percent) of the participants who did not finish high school were able to fully recover compared to 136 (31 percent) participants who spent some time in college and 76 (39 percent) participants with an undergraduate degree.
"After these types of injuries, some people are disabled for life and are never able to go back to work, while other people who have similar injuries recover fully," American Academy of Neurology and research author Eric B. Schneider, PhD from Johns Hopkins in Baltimore said. "What we learned may point to the potential value of continuing to educate yourself and engage in cognitively intensive activities. Just as we try to keep our bodies strong in order to help us recover when we are ill, we need to keep the brain in the best shape it can be."
The study focused on the brain's ability to function properly even after a traumatic injury and how this "cognitive reserve" affects recovery. Previous research shows that more years spent in education could result to better cognitive reserve and more effective brain use, slowing the progression of Alzheimer's dementia and its symptoms.
