Vocabulary Protects Against Cognitive Decline

In this Article (Index)

• Words to protect your mental abilities

Words can help keep your mind sharp

A study conducted in 2014 (1) analyzed the role of vocabulary as an indicator of cognitive decline. The trial involved 326 subjects who were fifty years of age, or older. They were split into two groups, the treatment group with 104 patients suffering from Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) and 222 healthy individuals in the "control" group.

The research showed that:

The MCI group had significantly lower scores than the controls in tasks of vocabulary and in reading habits... The high level of vocabulary seems to help the increasing of cognitive reserve as an indicator protective against cognitive decline. Lojo-Seoana, Facal, Juncos-Rabadan, and Pereira (2014) (1)

Those with "infrequent reading habits" had an increased risk of 2.17% of MCI.
A poor score on the Peabody vocabulary test was associated with an increased risk of 4.51% vs. those with a high score.
The WAIS vocabulary scale showed similar outcomes; with a risk increase of 4.28% for low scores.

TThe study found that the level of education, the complexity of the work history, or the frequency of social and cultural activities did not influence the outcomes.

The authors conclude that "our results show that a lower level of vocabulary predicts the prevalence of MCI." A larger cognitive reserve not only delays the appearance of MCI symptoms, it also retards its development.

Those with a higher vocabulary level and a larger cognitive reserve can delay the onset of symptoms for a longer period.

Since this study was published in 2014, other researchers reported similar findings. A 2017 study with 408 older adults that were residing in a community (353 healthy and 55 with MCI), found that fluency and word generation were fewer for individuals with MCI compared to controls. (4)

Another study from 2017 involving over 100 elderly women, found that vocabulary knowledge was associated with general cognitive functioning. However, they noticed it was only effective for people who had received six or more years of education and not effective for people who had not completed elementary schooling. (2)

More recently, a 2024 paper disclosed that "vocabulary knowledge increases through the mid-60s" and, "unlike many cognitive abilities that decline with aging, vocabulary knowledge continues to increase until approximately age 65, and then remains stable or decreases slightly," this has important consequences as shortcomings regarding vocabulary can indicate cognition decline. (3)

Another 2024 study (5) using data from 5,932 elderly participants of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) with data from 2012 to 2020 found that those who engaged in "cognitively stimulating leisure activities" or CSLAs such as playing chess, doing crossword puzzles and having hobbies, had "higher levels of memory, working memory, and attention and processing speed than the mid and low-level participation groups." Where high-level was 3 to 4 times a week.
All groups, mid-, low-, and high-level CSLA, suffered from cognitive decline over the eight years, but the decline was slower in the high-participation group.