Bilingualism as a protective factor in age-related neurodegenerative disorders

Lead Research Organisation: Bangor University
Department Name: Sch of Psychology

Abstract

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Description • Some recent studies have found that being bilingual can help to strengthen mental fitness, protect against age-related decline in mental fitness, and delay the onset of age-related conditions such as Alzheimer's disease (AD). This is thought to be because being bilingual helps strengthen certain mental abilities, called 'executive functions'. However, other studies have found that being bilingual does not confer any advantage in mental fitness. When we began this study there was no evidence available about the effects of bilingualism for older Welsh speakers.
• In the BANC study we examined how much of a protective factor being bilingual is for Welsh-speaking older people, including healthy older people, people with early-stage AD, and people with Parkinson's disease (PD). We did this by comparing executive function in monolingual English speakers and bilingual Welsh/English speakers within each of these three groups. In the AD group we also examined the age at which people were diagnosed with dementia.
• For healthy older people, being bilingual did not result in better performance on executive function tasks. There were either no differences between bilinguals and monolinguals, or a tendency for monolinguals to perform better.
• For people with AD, being bilingual did not result in better performance on executive function tasks. Bilinguals were diagnosed with AD on average three years later than monolinguals, although this difference was not statistically significant. The bilinguals were also more impaired than the monolinguals at the time when they were diagnosed, suggesting that they may have sought help at a later stage rather than developing the condition later. However, it was difficult to identify bilinguals with AD through NHS clinics, and the number of bilinguals participating in the study was relatively small, so we cannot draw firm conclusions from these results.
• For people with PD, being bilingual did not result in better performance on executive function tasks.
• The results do not support the view that being a bilingual Welsh/English speaker helps to protect against age-related decline in mental fitness, or that it helps to maintain executive function abilities in the presence of either AD or PD.
• The results are inconclusive with regard to the possibility that Welsh/English bilinguals develop AD significantly later than monolinguals. If there is a delay in onset, it appears to be much smaller than that identified in some other populations.
• The observation that bilingual Welsh speakers who develop AD come to the attention of services later than monolinguals has implications for provision of clinical services to this group.
Exploitation Route The finding that being bilingual did not confer specific benefits for older Welsh speakers could potentially contribute to policy decisions about bilingualism, although realistically as policy-makers in Wales are prioritising the Welsh language this seems unlikely. The finding that older Welsh speakers (bilinguals) were diagnosed with dementia later in the course of the disease than monolingual English speakers might be used by health service providers as a basis for actions to improve equal access to services.
Sectors Healthcare
URL http://psychology.exeter.ac.uk/media/universityofexeter/schoolofpsychology/reach/documents/BANC_summary.pdf
 
Description The findings from this study only became available during the second half of 2014, once the analysis and interpretation of data was completed. Three scientific paper have been accepted for publication. The findings were communicated to • The Welsh Government through personal correspondence sent to Mark Drakeford, Minister for Health and Social Services, Meri Huws, Welsh Language Commissioner, Sara Rochira, Older People's Commissioner for Wales, and Professor Jon Bisson, head of the National Institute for Social Care and Health Research (NISCHR). • NHS clinicians and memory clinic teams in Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board and Hywel Dda University Health Board, including old age psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, nurses, geriatricians, and R&D specialists, and to NISCHR clinical research centre staff. • The Chair and members of the British Psychological Society Faculty for the Psychology of Older People. • Other interested individuals and the general public via the REACH group website, the NEURODEM network website, the Bangor University website, and BBC Wales Online.
First Year Of Impact 2014
Sector Healthcare
Impact Types Societal
 
Description BANC Guardian/Observer Letter 
Form Of Engagement Activity A magazine, newsletter or online publication
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact We responded to a newspaper article that presented a one-sided view on the the benefits of bilingualism which ran counter to our and much of the extant literature. Our article offered a more balanced response to the article.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2016
URL https://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/2016/aug/13/letters-benefits-brain-bilingualism
 
Description Neurodem Research Participant Register (RPR) Newsletter 1(4) pg 4 
Form Of Engagement Activity A magazine, newsletter or online publication
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Study participants or study members
Results and Impact This was a newsletter sent to everyone in Wales on the NEURODEM mailing list. It was intended to help recruit people for the study.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2013
URL http://www.neurodemcymru.org/documents/NEURODEMRPRNewsletterIssue4FinalV2.pdf
 
Description Neurodem Research Participant Register (RPR) Newsletter, 1(5) 
Form Of Engagement Activity A magazine, newsletter or online publication
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Projects were advertised and findings were disseminated.

N/A
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2014