Nun Study
Encyclopedia
The Nun Study of Aging and Alzheimer's Disease is a still-running longitudinal study, begun in 1986, to examine the onset of Alzheimer's Disease
. David Snowdon
, the founding Nun Study investigator, originally began his research at the University of Minnesota
, but moved it to the University of Kentucky
in 1986. In 2008, with Dr. Snowdon's retirement from the University of Kentucky the study returned to the University of Minnesota. Similar environmental influences and general lifestyles make the nuns an ideal population to study, and although it is ongoing it has yielded several findings.
, focuses on a group of 678 American Roman Catholic sisters who are members of the School Sisters of Notre Dame
. Studying a relatively homogeneous group (no drug use, little or no alcohol, similar housing and reproductive histories, etc.) minimizes the extraneous variables that may confound other similar research.
predictor of its author's risk for developing Alzheimer's disease in old age. Crucial to note, with respect to this finding, is that the approximate mean age of the nuns at the time of writing was merely 22 years. Roughly 80% of nuns whose writing was measured as lacking in linguistic density went on to develop Alzheimer's disease in old age; meanwhile, of those whose writing was not lacking, only 10% later developed the disease.
Overall, findings of the Nun Study suggest "that traits in early, mid, and late life have strong relationships with the risk of Alzheimer's disease, as well as the mental and cognitive disabilities of old age."
Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease also known in medical literature as Alzheimer disease is the most common form of dementia. There is no cure for the disease, which worsens as it progresses, and eventually leads to death...
. David Snowdon
David Snowdon
David A. Snowdon is an epidemiologist and professor of neurology at the Sanders-Brown Center on Aging at the University of Kentucky. His research interests include antioxidants and aging, and the neuropathology of Alzheimer's disease, especially predictive factors in early life and the role of...
, the founding Nun Study investigator, originally began his research at the University of Minnesota
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
, but moved it to the University of Kentucky
University of Kentucky
The University of Kentucky, also known as UK, is a public co-educational university and is one of the state's two land-grant universities, located in Lexington, Kentucky...
in 1986. In 2008, with Dr. Snowdon's retirement from the University of Kentucky the study returned to the University of Minnesota. Similar environmental influences and general lifestyles make the nuns an ideal population to study, and although it is ongoing it has yielded several findings.
Origin
The Nun Study, begun (officially) in 1986 with funding by the National Institute on AgingNational Institute on Aging
The National Institute on Aging ' is a division of the U.S. National Institutes of Health , located in Baltimore, Maryland.The NIA leads a broad scientific effort to understand the nature of aging and to extend the healthy, active years of life...
, focuses on a group of 678 American Roman Catholic sisters who are members of the School Sisters of Notre Dame
School Sisters of Notre Dame
School Sisters of Notre Dame is a worldwide order of Roman Catholic nuns devoted to primary, secondary, and post-secondary education. Their life in mission centers on prayer, community life and ministry...
. Studying a relatively homogeneous group (no drug use, little or no alcohol, similar housing and reproductive histories, etc.) minimizes the extraneous variables that may confound other similar research.
Current Findings
Researchers have also accessed the convent archive to review documents amassed throughout the lives of the nuns in the study. Among the documents reviewed were autobiographical essays that had been written by the nuns upon joining the Sisterhood; upon review, it was found that an essay's lack of linguistic density (e.g., complexity, vivacity, fluency) functioned as a significantStatistical significance
In statistics, a result is called statistically significant if it is unlikely to have occurred by chance. The phrase test of significance was coined by Ronald Fisher....
predictor of its author's risk for developing Alzheimer's disease in old age. Crucial to note, with respect to this finding, is that the approximate mean age of the nuns at the time of writing was merely 22 years. Roughly 80% of nuns whose writing was measured as lacking in linguistic density went on to develop Alzheimer's disease in old age; meanwhile, of those whose writing was not lacking, only 10% later developed the disease.
Overall, findings of the Nun Study suggest "that traits in early, mid, and late life have strong relationships with the risk of Alzheimer's disease, as well as the mental and cognitive disabilities of old age."
External links
- Official Nun Study homepage
- Nun study video: video 1
- Photoessay by Steve Liss for TIMETimeTime is a part of the measuring system used to sequence events, to compare the durations of events and the intervals between them, and to quantify rates of change such as the motions of objects....
, 2001 - "Nuns Offer Clues to Alzheimer's and Aging" by Pam Belluck for New York Times, 2001: Article contains, among other things, quotes from the nuns' autobiographical essays which may help to elucidate what is meant above by a "lack of linguistic density."
- "Landmark Study Links Cognitive Ability of Youth With Alzheimer's Disease Risk Later in Life" National Institute on AgingNational Institute on AgingThe National Institute on Aging ' is a division of the U.S. National Institutes of Health , located in Baltimore, Maryland.The NIA leads a broad scientific effort to understand the nature of aging and to extend the healthy, active years of life...
, entry on Nun Study, 1996 - Agatha Christie And Nuns Tell A Tale Of Alzheimer's, on NPR