The study authors found that people who were enrolled in a learning class at the time of enrollment had a 19 percent lower risk of developing dementia than other participants.

This remained true regardless of ethnicity. Interestingly, the results remained similar even after people with a medical history of diabetes, hyperlipidemia, cardiovascular disease, cancer, or mental illness.

Dr Takeuchi proposes that a randomized clinical trial be conducted in the near future to further validate the protective cognitive effects of adult education.

“This could take the form of a controlled trial in which one group of participants is encouraged to participate in an adult education class, while the other is encouraged to participate in a control intervention with equivalent social interaction, but without education,” he said.