# The right to education and brain health: A priority for advocacy

In *Alzheimer's & Dementia*, Gonzalez-Gomez et al. found that Latin Americans in their cohorts had lower educational levels compared to those in the United States, and that these educational disparities had an important impact on brain structure and function across the lifespan.<fnref n="1" /> This adds to a growing evidence base across Latin American countries, including Brazil,<fnref n="2" /> supporting the notion that education protects the brain and promotes healthy brain aging across the lifespan. Low education attainment was recognized by the 2024 Lancet Commission's meta-analysis on dementia as the most important modifiable risk factor.<fnref n="3" />

Education is recognized by the United Nations as a universal human right.⁴ But in both Latin America (e.g., Argentina) and the United States, austerity policies are currently eroding this right. Given the importance of adequate education for the brain, dismissing the right to free education until adulthood denies citizens their right to brain health,⁵ with the most disadvantaged most likely to suffer. There is a rapidly emerging interest in brain health advocacy in Latin America⁶,⁷ and across the Global South.⁸ Data from studies like Gonzalez-Gomez et al.<fnref n="1" /> should be highlighted in the evidence base for brain health advocacy as part of an emerging rights-based approach to brain health,⁵,⁹ because the right to education and the right to brain health are mutually reinforcing, and when one is weakened, so is the other.

Ensuring equitable access to education across the Americas and the world is a matter of human rights and public health, and brain health advocates should be vocal in their support of this universal right.

## ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Thanks to Oana Maria Cercel for discussions on the need for global advocacy of human rights. Timothy Daly is a postdoctoral research fellow funded by the "Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale" (INSERM) on the MEMENTO project (France).

## CONFLICT OF INTEREST STATEMENT

Timothy Daly has no conflicts of interest to declare. Author disclosures are available in the supporting information.

Timothy Daly<fnref n="1" />,<fnref n="2" />,<fnref n="3" /> ID

## Correspondence

Timothy Daly, UMR 1219 Bordeaux Population Health, Université de Bordeaux & INSERM, 146 rue Léo Saignat, 33076 Bordeaux, France.

Email: timothy.daly@u-bordeaux.fr

## ORCID

Timothy Daly ID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1650-242X

## REFERENCES

1. Gonzalez-Gomez R, Legaz A, Moguilner S, et al. Educational disparities in brain health and dementia across Latin America and the United States. *Alzheimers Dement: J Alzheimers Association*. 2024;20(9):5912-5925. doi:10.1002/alz.14085

2. Da Ros LU, Borelli WV, Aguzzoli CS, et al. Social and health disparities associated with healthy brain ageing in Brazil and in other Latin American countries. *Lancet Glob Health*. 2025;13(2):e277-e284. doi:10.1016/S2214-109X(24)00451-0

3. Livingston G, Huntley J, Liu KY, et al. Dementia prevention, intervention, and care: 2024 report of the Lancet standing Commission. *Lancet (London, England)*. 2024;404(10452):572-628. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(24)01296-0

4. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The right to education. Accessed 15th February 2025 https://www.unesco.org/en/right-education

5. Daly T. Brain health is a human right: implications for policy and research. *Neuroscience*. 2025;569:147-154. doi:10.1016/j.neuroscience.2025.01.063

6. Duran-Aniotz C, Sanhueza J, Grinberg LT, et al. The Latin American Brain Health Institute, a regional initiative to reduce the scale and impact of dementia. *Alzheimers Dement: J Alzheimers Association*. 2022;18(9):1696-1698. doi:10.1002/alz.12710

7. Dawson WD, Booi L, Pintado-Caipa M, et al. The Brain Health Diplomat's Toolkit: supporting brain health diplomacy leaders in Latin America and the Caribbean. *Lancet Reg Health Am*. 2023;28:100627. doi:10.1016/j.lana.2023.100627

8. Baez S, Alladi S, Ibanez A. Global South research is critical for understanding brain health, ageing and dementia. *Clin Transl Med*. 2023;13(11):e1486. doi:10.1002/ctm2.1486

9. Winter SF, Walsh D, Catsman-Berrevoets C, et al. National plans and awareness campaigns as priorities for achieving global brain health. *Lancet Glob Health*. 2024;12(4):e697-e706. doi:10.1016/S2214-109X(23)00598-3

## SUPPORTING INFORMATION

Additional supporting information can be found online in the Supporting Information section at the end of this article.

This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

© 2025 The Author(s). *Alzheimer's & Dementia* published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Alzheimer's Association.

<footnote n="1">¹UMR 1219 Bordeaux Population Health, Université de Bordeaux & INSERM, Bordeaux, France</footnote>

<footnote n="2">²UMR 5164, ImmunoConcept, University of Bordeaux & CNRS, Bordeaux, France</footnote>

<footnote n="3">³Bioethics Program, FLACSO Argentina, Buenos Aires, Argentina</footnote>