Keeping an aging brain active may stall mental decline. (Todd Heisler/The New York Times)Brain health among older Americans appears to be getting better.
Compared to aging adults in the 1990s, people over 70 today may have a lower risk for serious memory problems, including Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia, according to a new study that examined mental function among more than 14,000 people over a decade. While the reasons for the apparent decline aren’t known, the brain boost may be explained by the fact that older Americans today are better educated, wealthier and have improved cardiovascular health compared to similarly-aged adults in the 1990s.
“The study suggests that it’s important to keep your mind active, not just in formal education in early life, but with reading and talking with friends and staying connected with the world through volunteering and social networks,’’ said lead author Dr. Kenneth Langa, associate professor of internal medicine at the University of Michigan. “We think that’s part of the story of keeping your brain healthy and working against cognitive decline and dementia.’’
The study, published online yesterday in the medical journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia, examined mental function data from 7,406 people over age 69 in 1993 and compared the findings to a similar group of 7,104 adults in 2002. The prevalence of cognitive impairment dropped over the decade, falling to 8.7 percent, down from 12.2 percent in the 1990s.
That seemingly small decline translates into hundreds of thousands of fewer people in their 70s with significant cognitive problems than would have been expected based on the trends in 1993. But while the data suggest that overall risk for dementia may be dropping among aging Americans, the total number of people with cognitive decline continues to rise due to a swath of baby boomers entering old age.
Scientists can only speculate why fewer people in 2002 showed signs of cognitive decline compared to people in the 1990s. The study found that, on average, the 2002 group had about one more year of formal education than those in 1993 and about $100,000 more in net worth. Having more money might translates into better health care, which may ultimately benefit the brain. The fact that the 2002 group had more education supports the notion of a cognitive reserve — the idea that brain-stimulating activities in life build up a cushion of protection that can slow mental decline.
The researchers say additional research is needed to confirm the findings. However, the data from this study and others underscore the importance that lowering cardiovascular risk factors, such as controlling high blood pressure and stopping smoking, have on brain health. And no matter what decade of life you are in, the brain appears to benefit from continued mental challenges.
“Early life is important in wiring up the brain and instilling your cognitive reserve, but it does look like you can do things into your 50s and 60s that likely keep the reserve there that may keep you from declining,’’ Dr. Langa said.
Healthy living doesn't happen at the doctor's office. The road to better health is paved with the small decisions we make every day. It's about the choices we make when we buy groceries, drive our cars and hang out with our kids. Join columnist Tara Parker-Pope as she sifts through medical research and expert opinions for practical advice to help readers take control of their health and live well every day. You can reach Ms. Parker-Pope at 
The easiest and most pleasurable way to eat well is to cook. Recipes for Health offers recipes with an eye towards empowering you to cook healthy meals every day. 
From 1 to 25 of 53 Comments
according to me memory is getting stronger due to the mental exercise done during young days, also jobs or own buisness keeps your brain alert.this helps your brain to be more active during old age.
— roshan vadaliathe reason for this is due to the brain being more active during different stages of life.like during young days children keep themselves busy with puzzle and other mind game.with age comes occupation .so this the reason for the brain being active at old age
— vadalia1I worry that this may be generational, and as the generation of people who grew up in the 80’s, 90’s and after, with sedentary, obese lives gets older, the trend may reverse itself.
— ConsumerI disagree with the conclusions of this study. Much more likely the dementia decline is a function of the overall better health of seniors today. Makes a very big difference in brain health the trend to aggressively treat hypertension, hyperlipdemia, diabetes, and cardiac disorders particularly stroke risk problems like atrial fibrillation.
Physically healthier seniors naturally would be more mentally active.
— MARK KLEIN, M.D.maybe the large group of children that were surrounded by lead in their homes died in the early ’90’s and dementia was one of the effects of too much lead.
— mThere has been alot of talk on this site recently about the negative effects of statins, including the possiblility that statins may have negative neurological consequences. But there have also been some reports that the anti inflammatory properties of statins may protect the brain from various forms of dementia including Alzheimer’s Disease. Tara, I wonder whether the reduction in the incidence of dementia might be related to the increased use of statins in the late 90’s and early part of this century. Does anyone know if the authors of the article considered this possibility?
— KayI wonder how much of it has to do with the elimination of leaded gasolene. Huge amounts of lead where blown all over the place by cars for over half a century. The difference in children and teens has been noticed, its even been proposed as a reason for declining crime rates amongst the young. But maybe the constant exposure was contributing to dementia in the elderly as well?
— LarryWas there any noticable difference between groups of Americans who do not retire until very late in life, and those who bail out of the wortkforce at age 55?
One would tink that judges, members of legislatures, scientists and other academics –people with stimulating, rewarding careers– would fare better than those who retreat to golf and television after thirty years doing jobs that do not inspire.
— Jim RyanObviously there are a variety of factors. Although education may convey some benefits, many of us know professionals (doctors, lawyers, business people) who descended from sharp, intellectually active and engaged people into shuffling, drooling vacant people in later life. It is good to know that some things may help, but the mystery of why some folks deteriorate so is complex.
— Anne-Marie HislopJim (#8) - you bring up an interesting point. I think it depends on what one does when you retiring early. My father retired at 52 (he’s almost 65 now) and has indulged in all of his creative passions with his free time. In addition to keeping physically active, he also spends a lot of time researching and writing papers about historical topics that interest him. He finds local community groups, churches and synagogues that have an interest in the topic, and gives a talk with Q&A. He finds this mentally stimulating and very rewarding, probably more so than the mid-level management job in PR that he retired from.
— SharonNumerous studies indicate that plasticity in the brain is a lifelong exper. Japan has a very high rate of octagenarians and centarians and is a great population to conduct much needed research on aging. One indiv., recently highlighted on PBS, was a man who started a daycare to help his child who had learning differences. In his 90’s, he still was active and had created over 1000 different types of innovative learning tools to help students. This process of creativity,creating novel responses to challeneges and generativity may all be part of his youthful brain. Exposing oneself to new subjects,environments and exper. produces changes in the brain,maybe the most significant aspect is avoiding social isolation that inhibits novelty.
— mikeMy wife’s Aunt just died at 101 and suffered from severe dementia (not Alzheimer’s) for over 5 years. She is the exact opposite of everything in the study. She was in perfect physical health and took no medications, after cataract surgery in her 80’s she never wore glasses. She exercised and kept her mind active her whole life (she was a teacher and real estate saleswoman). She was wealthy and had good health care. She could still do math in her head and correct spelling and grammar errors, she just didn’t know anyone. She knew days of the week and all the other things the social workers always ask. They always said she was alright by their tests. I know this is anecdotal but it is what I have seen in one patient, so represents my experience.
From TPP — dementia is far more common in the 90s. This study was speaking about people over 69. I think the fact that her aunt lived to be 101 shows the value of exercising and staying active.
— RichThis is truly illiterate and irresponsible garbage.
— annaFrankly, I am sick and tired of idiocy.
I am sick and tired of American official statements such as “stress doesn’t matter” (when every child in the world knows otherwise), then publishing a cover story (discovery!!! - NYT) about the danger of … stress (great discovery indeed - no shame).
Or, ignoring the danger of overusing antibiotics (when every child in the world know that it’s dangerous), then again “discovering” their hazards (NYT again).
The truth is that Alzheimer’s robs the best minds of memory and this garbage about brain-stimulating activities is primitive at best.
“I disagree with the conclusions of this study.”
Of course, Mark. Frankly, I don’t understand how one can agree with this “study.”
— annaPersonally, I am ready to publish the results of my own “studies.”
- Mental exercise eliminates the need for treatment of wounds.
- Mental exercise eliminates the need for surgeons
in general.
There are just too many variables to make a viable explanation possible.
This generation being studied is a “between” generation; too young to have been involved in World War II or Korea but (for the most part) too young for Vietnam. They would have experienced the Depression and the rationing of war as children, which means that on average they would have eaten fewer calories and less junk food than previous or following generations. On the other hand, they wouldn’t have experienced the stress of going to war themselves (or having their spouse go to war), nor would they have had to suffer the very real deprivations (poor food, cold, hard labour) that were part of active duty during both wars.
They likely smoked less than their parents but more than their children. Their early adulthood would have been one of comfort but (like most between generations) they wouldn’t have had, again on average, the career opportunities that returning GIs or baby boomers had - they were either too young to be taken seriously by an employer or too old for the job.
They would also have been the first generation to receive antibiotics for infections such as strep and staph as children, and the oldest to receive polio vaccinations before age 25. On the other hand, they would have been the last generation to have to go through diseases such as measles, mumps, rubella, and the like.
— Charlene#15
— annaExactly.
Someone who was dropped as a baby when communities
were fleeing during a war … somewhere probably has greater chances of problems later in life, similarly a person wounded in a war, etc., etc.
Not everything “is up to you.” Sooooo simplistic.
ROFLMAO Charlene!!
Baby boomers experienced The Depression and rationing??
It’s crucial to have knowledge and insight before posting opinions.
— suzanneDuhhhhh, it couldn’t be that many people with money and time are spending billions on nutritional supplements, clean food, exercise, stress reduction and mentally stimulating activities?
Our health care system, as it is, is a complete rip off/scam that hurts as many people as it helps. There are perverse incentives to keep people sick…no one does that “consciously”; but that’s the result.
It’s a shame that only people with money to burn can afford non toxic food and wholistic health care.
It’s actually CHEAPER, in the long run, to have clean food and to provide wholistic care to everyone……we would end up cutting what we spend on “Health Care” by HALF with that reform alone…..and if you add single payer, eliminating a totally unecessary “industry” we could cut those expenditures in half again.
In a USA with a sane health care system we would be spending one fourth of what we spend now and achieving far far far better results for every one.
(And doctors and nurses et al would be much much happier people!)
A hundred years from now (assuming we still exist as a civilized species) the current status quo vis a vis health care will be looked upon as primitive maleficent snake oil savagery.
— Nick LentoSpeaking of lead–notice that in the last year or so, and without Any mention/publicity, our tin cans are now being “lined.” Not just tomato or tomato products either. And what is in tin? And what is solder? And aren’t soda pop drinks acidic?—they are stored in aluminum cans for who-knows-how long!
— GloriaNick #18
— anna“A hundred years from now (assuming we still exist as a civilized species) the current status quo vis a vis health care will be looked upon as primitive maleficent snake oil savagery.”
I am foreign born, and I view the current status
as “primitive snake oil savagery” now.
Living a brain-friendly lifestyle is a common-sense approach to keeping the brain as strong as possible for as long as possible.
For instance, using only the speed dial on your phones may save you a few seconds per call, but consider this: it gives the good memory power to the phone, not you! To keep the important phone numbers firmly fixed in your “mental Rolodex”, you had better dial them at least once a week!
For more memory improvement tips, please visit my blog: http://www.memory-improvement-tipster.com, and my website: http://www.memorylady.com.
— Judy Marcus, Memory LadyTrue - excercise, proper weight and nutrition can hold off the onset of many illnesses. However, I am the wife of a Latin teacher who walked 2 mikes every day, whipped out the NYTimes Sunday puzzle in less than an hour and could have beat Ken Jennings ass - who developed FrontoTemporal Dementia in his early 50’s. I am tired of the implication that some how his illness is his fault, that he could have done more to prevent it. Balloning neurons and neurofibrillary tangles are not ‘lifestyle’ mistakes - they are pathology.
— ArdenJust curious: all the interest in a possible relationship between aluminum cookware and demantia seems to have faded, as quietly as the products themselves disappeared from the market.
Another thought: the dementia patients now reaching the end of life were the first to experience abundant food without physical exertion. And in completely separate articles, we read that physical activity is important to brain health!
— nancyI’d like to add one comment about a sign of improving dementia that the article completely missed: It’s that c—c—c——. Damn, it’s on the tip of my tongue…!
— Sy FieldRe Suzanne: #17
This study compared the brain health of 7406 North Americans aged over 69 in 1993 with the brain health of a later cohort of 7104 adults of similar age in 2002.
The term “baby boomer” usually refers to the age cohort born in the US and in the UK baby boom period immediately following the end of WW2 - commonly considered to be the period from about 1946 to about 1964.
Someone who was over 69 in 2002 was born in 1933 or earlier. Hence, the 2002 cohort of 7104 adults studied can hardly be described as baby boomers. Moreover, neither the study, nor Charlene (poster #15) states that the 2002 cohort were baby boomers.
Rather, the study claims that as baby boomers come through:
“The total number of people with cognitive decline continues to rise due to a swath of baby boomers entering old age”.
I thought Charlene made some excellent points; certainly, she did not state nor imply that:
“Baby boomers experienced The Depression and rationing”.
Yes - it is crucial to have knowledge and insight before posting opinions; it’s also crucial to take the trouble carefully to read an article AND a poster’s opinions before attacking the poster for something she never wrote!
— Chris Colenso-Dunne