Memory Loss In A Highly Educated Individual Can Signal Stroke Risk

A new study published in the journal Stroke investigates possible signs of dementia. Researchers found that when people with a high level of education complain about memory loss, it may be time to check in with the doctor.

For the study, researchers surveyed 9,253 patients aged 55 and up. All subjects were ask to complete a subjective memory complaint questionnaire and then take a Mini-Mental State Examination.

"Studies have shown how stroke causes memory complaints," said Afran Ikram, M.D., an associate professor of neuroepidemiology at Erasmus University Rotterdam, in the Netherlands. "Given the shared underlying vascular pathology, we posed the reverse question: ‘Do memory complaints indicate an increased risk of strokes?"

Survey findings revealed that within this population, by 2012 the subjects had experienced 1,134 strokes-663 ischemic, 99 hemorrhagic, and 372 unspecified-but more importantly those with memory complaints resulted in 39 percent higher chance stroke.

"Given the role of education in revealing subjective memory complaints, we investigated the same association but in three separate groups: low education, medium education, and high education," Ikram concluded. "We found that the association of memory complaints with stroke was strongest among people with the highest education. If in future research we can confirm in their memory should be considered primary targets for further risk assessment and prevention of stroke."

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