From Desk to Decline? A Census-Linked Study on Occupation and Dementia Mortality in Belgium (1991-2020)

Janna Dinneweth, Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Sylvie Gadeyne, Vrije Universiteit Brussel

This study investigates the relationship between occupation and dementia-related mortality using data from the Belgian 1991 census, linked to cause-specific mortality records spanning 1991-2020. Previous research has shown that individuals in higher occupational socioeconomic positions tend to have lower dementia-related mortality, often explained by the cognitive reserve hypothesis and differences in occupational task complexity. However, broad occupational classifications may mask important variations in work environments, such as physical activity, stress levels, and exposure to hazardous substances. To address this, we use detailed occupational categories based on the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO-88), calculating age-standardized mortality rates and mortality rate ratios through Poisson regression analysis. Preliminary findings reveal that unskilled manual workers exhibit the highest dementia mortality rates for both men and women. Teachers have the lowest dementia mortality rates among specific occupations, while extraction/building trades and machine operators/assemblers have the highest. This study underscores the complex interplay between occupation and dementia mortality, and highlights the importance of detailed occupational analysis for its potential in dementia prevention.

Keywords: Census data, Linked data sets , Mortality and Longevity, Human Capital, Education, and Work

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