Secrets of longevity: how dangerous a job for a low salary is

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A small salary may be more harmful to the brain than to the wallet. As shown by a new study by scientists at Columbia University, long-term work for low wages leads to faster memory deterioration. That is, the brain of a person who works a low-paying job for a long time ages faster than that of someone who earns a good salary.

Using data from the National Health and Retirement Survey of Adults, the team studied data on 2,879 people born between 1936 and 1941. The scientists divided each study participant's earnings history into certain categories. The authors then examined the relationship between wages and memory decline over a 12-year period.

The results of the study were presented at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference. They showed that, compared with people who had never worked for low pay, those who consistently earned low wages had faster memory decline in old age.

“Our study provides new evidence that prolonged low wages during peak working years are associated with accelerated memory decline in later life,” says one of the authors of the work, a research fellow at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, Katrina Kezios.

The scientists also note that previous studies have linked low-wage work with symptoms of depression, obesity, and hypertension. All of these conditions also increase the risk of accelerated cognitive aging.