A cross-sectional and longitudinal study on the protective effect of bilingualism against dementia using brain atrophy and cognitive measures
Abstract Background Evidence from previous studies suggests that bilingualism contributes to cognitive reserve because bilinguals manifest the first symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) up to 5 years later than monolinguals. Other cross-sectional studies demonstrate that bilinguals show greater amou...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2020-01-01
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| Series: | Alzheimer’s Research & Therapy |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s13195-020-0581-1 |
| _version_ | 1818728426281893888 |
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| author | Víctor Costumero Lidon Marin-Marin Marco Calabria Vicente Belloch Joaquín Escudero Miguel Baquero Mireia Hernandez Juan Ruiz de Miras Albert Costa Maria-Antònia Parcet César Ávila |
| author_facet | Víctor Costumero Lidon Marin-Marin Marco Calabria Vicente Belloch Joaquín Escudero Miguel Baquero Mireia Hernandez Juan Ruiz de Miras Albert Costa Maria-Antònia Parcet César Ávila |
| author_sort | Víctor Costumero |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background Evidence from previous studies suggests that bilingualism contributes to cognitive reserve because bilinguals manifest the first symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) up to 5 years later than monolinguals. Other cross-sectional studies demonstrate that bilinguals show greater amounts of brain atrophy and hypometabolism than monolinguals, despite sharing the same diagnosis and suffering from the same symptoms. However, these studies may be biased by possible pre-existing between-group differences. Methods In this study, we used global parenchymal measures of atrophy and cognitive tests to investigate the protective effect of bilingualism against dementia cross-sectionally and prospectively, using a sample of bilinguals and monolinguals in the same clinical stage and matched on sociodemographic variables. Results Our results suggest that the two groups did not differ in their cognitive status at baseline, but bilinguals had less parenchymal volume than monolinguals, especially in areas related to brain atrophy in dementia. In addition, a longitudinal prospective analysis revealed that monolinguals lost more parenchyma and had more cognitive decline than bilinguals in a mean follow-up period of 7 months. Conclusion These results provide the first prospective evidence that bilingualism may act as a neuroprotective factor against dementia and could be considered a factor in cognitive reserve. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-17T22:29:48Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-b6042f913c044b9da4f1743ee485c85d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1758-9193 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-17T22:29:48Z |
| publishDate | 2020-01-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Alzheimer’s Research & Therapy |
| spelling | doaj.art-b6042f913c044b9da4f1743ee485c85d2022-12-21T21:30:13ZengBMCAlzheimer’s Research & Therapy1758-91932020-01-0112111010.1186/s13195-020-0581-1A cross-sectional and longitudinal study on the protective effect of bilingualism against dementia using brain atrophy and cognitive measuresVíctor Costumero0Lidon Marin-Marin1Marco Calabria2Vicente Belloch3Joaquín Escudero4Miguel Baquero5Mireia Hernandez6Juan Ruiz de Miras7Albert Costa8Maria-Antònia Parcet9César Ávila10Center for Brain and Cognition, University Pompeu FabraNeuropsychology and Functional Neuroimaging Group, University Jaume ICenter for Brain and Cognition, University Pompeu FabraERESA Medical GroupDepartment of Neurology, General Hospital of ValenciaNeurology Unit, University and Polytechnic Hospital La FeDepartment of Cognition, Development, and Educational Psychology Section of Cognitive Processes, University of BarcelonaComputer Science Department, University of JaénCenter for Brain and Cognition, University Pompeu FabraNeuropsychology and Functional Neuroimaging Group, University Jaume INeuropsychology and Functional Neuroimaging Group, University Jaume IAbstract Background Evidence from previous studies suggests that bilingualism contributes to cognitive reserve because bilinguals manifest the first symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) up to 5 years later than monolinguals. Other cross-sectional studies demonstrate that bilinguals show greater amounts of brain atrophy and hypometabolism than monolinguals, despite sharing the same diagnosis and suffering from the same symptoms. However, these studies may be biased by possible pre-existing between-group differences. Methods In this study, we used global parenchymal measures of atrophy and cognitive tests to investigate the protective effect of bilingualism against dementia cross-sectionally and prospectively, using a sample of bilinguals and monolinguals in the same clinical stage and matched on sociodemographic variables. Results Our results suggest that the two groups did not differ in their cognitive status at baseline, but bilinguals had less parenchymal volume than monolinguals, especially in areas related to brain atrophy in dementia. In addition, a longitudinal prospective analysis revealed that monolinguals lost more parenchyma and had more cognitive decline than bilinguals in a mean follow-up period of 7 months. Conclusion These results provide the first prospective evidence that bilingualism may act as a neuroprotective factor against dementia and could be considered a factor in cognitive reserve.https://doi.org/10.1186/s13195-020-0581-1BilingualismCognitive reserveAlzheimer’s diseaseMild cognitive impairmentBrain atrophyRegion-based morphometry |
| spellingShingle | Víctor Costumero Lidon Marin-Marin Marco Calabria Vicente Belloch Joaquín Escudero Miguel Baquero Mireia Hernandez Juan Ruiz de Miras Albert Costa Maria-Antònia Parcet César Ávila A cross-sectional and longitudinal study on the protective effect of bilingualism against dementia using brain atrophy and cognitive measures Alzheimer’s Research & Therapy Bilingualism Cognitive reserve Alzheimer’s disease Mild cognitive impairment Brain atrophy Region-based morphometry |
| title | A cross-sectional and longitudinal study on the protective effect of bilingualism against dementia using brain atrophy and cognitive measures |
| title_full | A cross-sectional and longitudinal study on the protective effect of bilingualism against dementia using brain atrophy and cognitive measures |
| title_fullStr | A cross-sectional and longitudinal study on the protective effect of bilingualism against dementia using brain atrophy and cognitive measures |
| title_full_unstemmed | A cross-sectional and longitudinal study on the protective effect of bilingualism against dementia using brain atrophy and cognitive measures |
| title_short | A cross-sectional and longitudinal study on the protective effect of bilingualism against dementia using brain atrophy and cognitive measures |
| title_sort | cross sectional and longitudinal study on the protective effect of bilingualism against dementia using brain atrophy and cognitive measures |
| topic | Bilingualism Cognitive reserve Alzheimer’s disease Mild cognitive impairment Brain atrophy Region-based morphometry |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s13195-020-0581-1 |
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