Being Bilingual May Reduce Alz. Risk

Bilingual individuals who have been able to speak more than one language for several years are able to delay the onset of Alzheimer’s symptoms four or five years longer than those who speak just one language, Canadian researchers have found.

Scientists studied 450 Alzheimer’s patients. Half of the participants had been able to speak two languages for most of their lives, while the other half were strictly monolingual. The investigators found that the bilingual group reported symptoms and were diagnosed four or five years later than the monolingual participants.