Marry an intelligent partner to prevent dementia, study suggests

During an Oxford Literary Festival talk, entitled "Dementia: How Can We Protect Ourselves?", researchers revealed that having an intellectually stimulating partner can act as a 'buffer' to the disease.

"The thing a boy is never told he needs to do if he wants to live a longer life – but what he should do – is marry an intelligent woman. There is no better buffer than intelligence," Professor Lawrence Whalley of University of Aberdeen reportedly said during the talk.

A person’s environment can also contribute towards their chances of developing the mental disease, research found.

"Environmental factors in your childhood, such as your father’s job status, have an effect, as does your mother’s diet during pregnancy. Your childhood IQ, your job income, your educational attainments all have an effect in later life," Whalley added.

Apart from environmental factors, research has also found that the death of a loved one can also increase the chances of developing the disease later in life.

"Studies have shown that the death of a mother before the age of five is a very important risk factor for dementia in later life," Professor Whalley reportedly added.

"But positive parenting as a child, a longer time in education and a good childhood environment all have a huge buffering effect against dementia 70 or 80 years later."

Having money, however, may help those suffering from dementia not to show.

"If you look at the kind of people who should have dementia but don’t show symptoms, they are highly intelligent people in high-powered jobs. They also have a lot of money in the bank," Whalley was quoted as saying in Daily Mail.