Doctors at the University of Michigan
studied the cognitive abilities of people over 70 in 1993 and in 2002. The percentage of people with memory issues went down over those nine years.
Quote:
Langa's team studied cognitive impairment among people aged 70 and older in the U.S. not living in nursing homes or other institutions. The researchers defined cognitive impairment as memory loss on a scale similar to that seen in dementia -- not mild memory loss.
For the study, some 7,400 people took memory tests in 1993. About 7,100 other people took the same tests in 2002.
What we found is that the risk for someone who was 70 and older in 1993 of having impaired cognition was higher than the risk for someone in that same age group in 2002," says Langa.
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The authors of the study point to increased later-life education and more avenues for mental stimulation. If you don't use it, apparently you lose it.
Unfortunately, as we live longer, we have growing risks of developing Alzheimer's or Dementia. Therefore, although most of us may keep our memories longer, there will be increasing numbers of people suffering from memory-impacting diseases.
