People With More Education May Recover Better From Brain Injury

By Maureen Salamon HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, April 23, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- New research suggests that people with more education recover significantly better from serious head injuries.

Scientists from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore found that adults with moderate to severe traumatic brain injuries who had earned at least an undergraduate degree were more than seven times as likely to completely recover from their injury than those who didn't finish high school.

The research focused on how "cognitive reserve" -- the brain's ability to maintain function despite damage -- affects recovery from traumatic brain injury. The results echo previous research in Alzheimer's dementia suggesting that more years of education, believed to lead to more effective brain use and greater cognitive reserve, slows progression of symptoms.

"I'm not sure we can quite say you should stay in school based on this study alone. But if one looks at the dementia literature, maintaining the health of your brain by being actively involved in your life is important," said study author Eric Schneider, an epidemiologist and assistant professor of surgery at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

"And in the unlikely event of injury to your brain, it may help," he added.

The study is published online April 23 in the journal Neurology.

About 2.5 million traumatic brain injuries occur each year in the United States and such injuries are among the leading causes of death and disability in children and young adults, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Not all bumps to the head result in a traumatic brain injury, but all of these injuries are caused by a blow, jolt or penetrating injury that upsets normal brain function, the CDC notes.

For the new study, Schneider and his colleagues analyzed 769 patients who had been hospitalized with a moderate to severe traumatic brain injury -- most from motor vehicle accidents or falls -- and later admitted to a rehabilitation facility.

Participants, who were at least 23 years old, were tracked for a minimum of one year after their injury. Grouped by education level, 24 percent had not finished high school; 51 percent had finished high school and some college education; and 25 percent had obtained at least an undergraduate degree, totaling 16 or more years of education.

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People With More Education May Recover Better From Brain Injury