No correlation between digital use, dementia

TECHNOLOGY A BOON, NOT BANE

- KAVITA BAJELI-DATT @ New Delhi

CONTRARY to the concern that the use of digital technology has a direct correlation with an increased risk of dementia, a latest study found that its use is associated with reduced cognitive decline.

Sweeping aside the theory about "digital dementia," the study, published in Nature Human Behavior, revealed that digital technology use correlates with a 58% lower risk of cognitive impairment.

The neuroscientists at Baylor University and the University of Texas at Austin Dell Medical School, who reviewed more than 136 studies with data covering over 4,00,000 adults, found that consistent use of technology was linked to a reduced risk of cognitive impairment in people over 50 years of age.