Study Links Taxi and Ambulance Driving to Lower Alzheimer’s Mortality Rates

Research suggests intensive spatial navigation in these roles may protect brain health, though limitations caution against firm conclusions.

A study analyzing 9 million U.S. death certificates found lower Alzheimer’s mortality rates among taxi drivers (1.03%) and ambulance drivers (0.74%) compared to the general population (3.88%).
The research hypothesizes that real-time spatial navigation required in these jobs may strengthen the hippocampus, a brain region linked to Alzheimer’s development.
Other transportation roles, such as bus drivers and pilots, which involve less dynamic navigation, did not show similar protective effects.
Experts caution that the study’s observational nature and factors like shorter lifespans and underrepresentation of women in these professions limit definitive conclusions.
The findings are considered hypothesis-generating, encouraging further research into how occupational cognitive demands might influence Alzheimer’s risk.