Background: A protective effect of education on cognitive decline after stroke has been claimed, but evidence from prospective population-based cohorts is very limited. The differential role of literacy and education on dementia after stroke remains unexplored.
Objective: This research addresses the role of education and literacy in dementia incidence after stroke and transient ischemic attack (TIA).
Methods: 131 participants with stroke or TIA were identified within the population-based NEDICES study (N = 5,278 persons). Participants were fully assessed at baseline (1994-1995) and incident dementia diagnosis was made by expert neurologists (DSM-IV criteria) after a mean follow-up of 3.4 years. Adjusted Cox regression analyses were applied to test the association between education, literacy, and dementia risk.
Results: Within the 131 subjects with stroke or TIA, 19 (14%) developed dementia at follow-up. The Cox's regression model (age and sex adjusted) showed that low education (HR = 3.48, 95% CI = 1.28, 9.42, p = 0.014) and literacy (HR = 3.16, 95% CI = 1.08, 9.22, p = 0.035) were significantly associated with a higher dementia risk. Low education was also associated with dementia when main confounders (i.e., cognitive/functional performance) were considered in the Cox's model. However, after including stroke recurrence, only low/null literacy (versus education) remained as significant predictor of dementia. Finally, low/null literacy showed an effect over-and-above education on dementia risk when both factors were introduced in the adjusted Cox's regression.
Conclusion: These findings underline the importance of literacy to estimate cognitive decline after stroke in low-educated populations.
Keywords: Cognitive reserve; illiteracy; low education; stroke; transient ischemic attack.