Charlie and Marion Pitts. Mrs Pitts was diagnosed in 1998A MENTALLY demanding job may keep Alzheimer's disease at bay. A study has found that Alzheimer's patients are more likely to have had work that was not mentally challenging than people the same age without the disease.

And jobs with more physical emphasis were linked to higher rates of the disease.

Dr Roger Bullock, of the Kingshill Memory Research Centre, Swindon, believes there could be truth in the report, compiled by colleagues in the US.

He said: "It is certainly true that the more you use your brain the less you lose it.

"But this study does not mean that those with boring jobs will go on to develop Alzheimer's.

"The study emphasises how important it is to stimulate the brain. Although we do spend a lot of time at work, what we do outside of work is also important.

"Those with dumb jobs may have a very active social life."

Around 300 people are treated for the disease in Swindon each year and the study examined 122 people with it and 235 without.

All were over 60 years old. Information about occupations from their 20s to their 50s was also collected.

The mental, physical and social demands of the jobs were determined using measures developed by the US Government.

On average, both groups appeared to have had equally mentally challenging jobs in their 20s.

But those without Alzheimer's had moved up the career ladder with higher mental demands in their 30s, 40s and 50s.

The mental demands of jobs increased by about 33 per cent across the three decades.

Former factory worker and housewife, Marion Pitts, 80, of Moredon, Swindon, was diagnosed with the disease six years ago.

Husband Charlie, a retired traffic warden, is a great believer in the power of the mind, and agrees with the findings.

Mr Pitts, also 80, said: "Marion was a normal type of woman. She worked in a munitions shop at Great Western Railway during the war and brought up five children.

"It was all very physical work and the machines did all the thinking for her," he said.

One of Mr Pitts's first jobs was helping to build aircraft hangers at RAF Lyneham.

He also worked at GWR for more than a decade before accepting a job as foreman at Pressed Steel.

A job as a traffic warden then followed in the 1970s when the famous manufacturer announced its closure.

Mr Pitts, who retired in 1983, said: "My jobs went on to become more mentally demanding. No machines were doing the thinking for me."

A limitation of the study was that it did not take into account the wealth and social status of patients.

Dr Bullock added: "There are a number of contributory factors to dementia, including smoking and diets."

Kevin Shoesmith