A large-scale study of US mortality data reveals that taxi drivers and ambulance drivers have the lowest rates of Alzheimer's disease deaths among 443 occupations examined. Researchers analyzed death certificates from 2020-2022, finding that only 1.03% of taxi drivers and 0.74% of ambulance drivers died from Alzheimer's, compared to 3.88% across all occupations.

After adjusting for age, sex, race, ethnicity, and education, these professions maintained their advantage. The study suggests that frequent spatial and navigational processing may provide protective effects against Alzheimer's disease. Taxi drivers in London have previously shown enhanced hippocampal function, the brain region crucial for spatial memory and affected by Alzheimer's.

Other transportation jobs like bus drivers and pilots showed no similar benefit, indicating that the protective effect may require real-time, unpredictable navigation rather than predetermined routes. The findings support the hypothesis that cognitively demanding spatial tasks could help maintain brain health and reduce Alzheimer's mortality risk.