New Delhi: Taxi and ambulance drivers have emerged from an unexpected study as the occupational groups with the lowest proportion of deaths attributed to Alzheimer’s disease. Researchers believe the constant need to navigate changing routes and build mental maps could be linked to the finding. However, the study does not prove that navigation prevents Alzheimer’s disease.
What makes navigation different?
A 2024 study published in the BMJ examined nearly 9 million US death certificates covering 443 occupations. Alzheimer’s disease accounted for 1.03% of deaths among taxi drivers and 0.74% among ambulance drivers, compared with 3.88% across the entire study population. After adjustments for age, sex, race, ethnicity and education, the two occupations still had the lowest proportions of Alzheimer’s-related deaths.
Interestingly, the same pattern was not seen among other transport workers. Bus drivers, aircraft pilots and ship captains, whose work generally involves more predetermined routes, did not show the same association.
Researchers suggested that frequent spatial navigation could be involved because the hippocampus, a brain region important for memory and navigation, is also among the areas affected early in Alzheimer’s disease.
Can spatial thinking strengthen the brain?
Earlier research involving London taxi drivers found changes in the hippocampus associated with the intensive navigation training required to obtain a licence. The finding helped raise questions about whether sustained navigation can influence the brain’s structure and function.
Spatial reasoning is not limited to professional drivers. Map reading, geography, GIS work, route planning, puzzles and other activities can require people to understand relationships between places and directions.
However, researchers caution against treating navigation as a proven Alzheimer’s prevention method. The BMJ study was observational and examined mortality records rather than directly measuring brain changes or disease development. Its authors described the findings as hypothesis-generating and called for further research.
The research nevertheless offers an encouraging reminder that keeping the brain actively engaged may be valuable as people age — while highlighting the need to distinguish promising associations from established medical advice.