This New Study Uncovered A Link Between Better Education And Stronger Gut Health

Education is a crucial part of society that welcomes a plethora of benefits. Staying in school develops critical thinking that is key during adulthood and leads to greater life stability due to higher salary potential.
Yet another perhaps surprising benefit has just been added to the list, though. According to a new study conducted by Edith Cowan University (ECU), getting a better education has been genetically correlated with protection against numerous gut disorders.
Prior research conducted by the ECU team had found a genetic link between Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and gut health.
Although, it was difficult to conclude whether or not one caused the other.
Now, however, this most recent study has broken new ground. The findings have built upon the ECU Center for Precision Health’s (CPH) previous work and found even more substantial evidence of a strong relationship between the gut and the brain– otherwise known as the gut-brain axis.
“Gut disorders and Alzheimer’s may not only share a common genetic predisposition but may be similarly influenced by genetic variations underpinning educational attainment,” explained Professor Simon Laws, the study’s supervisor and director of CPH.
So, this large-scale study analyzed the genetic information of over seven hundred and sixty-six thousand individuals.
The researchers specifically emphasized cognitive traits, Alzheimer’s disease, and gut disorders– including gastritis-duodenitis, peptic ulcer disease (PUD), irritable bowel syndrome, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), and diverticulosis.
The examination revealed that higher levels of cognitive functioning and education actually reduced patients’ risk of gut disorders– leading the researchers to claim that such a discovery could have widespread implications.

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“The results support education as a possible avenue for reducing the risk of gut disorders by, for example, encouraging higher educational attainment or a possible increase in the length of schooling,” said Dr. Emmanuel Adewuyi, the study’s lead researcher.
Adewuyi also added that policy efforts– which aim to increase cognitive training or educational attainment– may lead to a collective higher level of intelligence and, ultimately, stronger health outcomes that include a lowered risk of gut disorders.
Interestingly, though, the study’s findings did not stop there and actually revealed that the gut may influence the brain as well. Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) was found to cause cognitive function decline among numerous cognitive traits analyzed in the study– including cognitive performance, educational attainment, intelligence, and educational qualification.
And despite this being the first study to report such a finding, the results do support recent research, which has reported higher incidence rates of GERD and dementia.
So now, the discovery of this link may help lead to earlier diagnoses and other treatment options.
“GERD may be a risk factor for cognitive impairment, so it is important for health workers to look for signs and symptoms of cognitive dysfunction in patients presenting with the gut disorder,” Dr. Adewuyi said.
Still, further studies are needed to determine whether or not the treatment, cure, or remission of GERD has the potential to reduce the risk of cognitive decline.
To read the study’s complete findings, which have since been published in MDPI, visit the link here.
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