A new study suggests that driving an ambulance or taxi may lower the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. Researchers from Harvard Medical School analyzed over 9 million US deaths between 2020 and 2022, finding a significantly lower proportion of Alzheimer’s-related deaths among individuals who drove taxis and ambulances.
The team discovered that 1.03% of taxi driver deaths and 0.91% of ambulance driver deaths were attributed to Alzheimer’s disease, compared to 1.69% in the broader population. Bus drivers had a slightly higher risk at 1.65%, while ship captains showed 2.12% and aircraft pilots showed 2.34%.
While the study doesn’t prove that driving these jobs reduces the risk of Alzheimer’s, it suggests a link worth investigating further. Researchers believe that spatial cognitive tasks involved in driving may be beneficial for reducing the disease burden.
However, other factors could also be at play, such as age and occupation change over time. The researchers acknowledge that their findings are hypothesis-generating, rather than conclusive.
Source: https://www.sciencealert.com/these-2-jobs-have-the-fewest-deaths-from-alzheimers-but-what-does-it-mean