🧠 Users of digital technology have 58 percent lower risk of cognitive decline

• Digital technology reduces the risk of cognitive impairment by 58 percent according to a comprehensive meta-analysis.
• The study, which included over 411,000 adults over age 50, also showed reduced rates of cognitive decline over time.
• The effect persisted even after accounting for demographic factors, socioeconomic status, and health conditions.

First digital generation reaches age for dementia issues

The first generation that started using digital technology has now reached the age where the risk of dementia increases. A comprehensive meta-analysis of 136 studies examines whether a life with technology use has had a positive or negative impact on cognitive ability.

Researchers identified two competing hypotheses: the "digital dementia" hypothesis predicting that long-term technology use impairs cognitive abilities, and the "technological reserve" hypothesis suggesting that digital technology promotes behaviors that preserve cognitive functions.

Significantly reduced risk of cognitive impairment

Results from the meta-analysis, which included 411,430 adults with an average age of 68.7 years, clearly show that use of digital technology is linked to a reduced risk of cognitive impairment with an odds ratio of 0.42 (95 percent confidence interval 0.35-0.52). This corresponds to a risk reduction of 58 percent.

The studies analyzed were both cross-sectional and longitudinal observational studies with a follow-up time between 1 and 18 years (average 6.2 years).

Reduced rate of cognitive decline over time

Researchers also discovered that use of digital technology was linked to reduced rates of cognitive decline over time, with a hazard ratio of 0.74 (95 percent confidence interval 0.66-0.84).

These effects remained significant even after researchers controlled for demographic factors, socioeconomic status, health conditions, and other factors typically associated with cognitive reserve.

All studies included in the meta-analysis were evaluated for quality according to a standardized checklist, and the main results persisted even when the analysis was limited to studies of the highest quality.

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