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70-Year-Olds Smarter Than They Used to Be
Today’s 70-year-olds do far
better in intelligence tests than their predecessors. It has also become
more difficult to detect dementia in its early stages, though
forgetfulness is still an early symptom, reveals new research from the The H70 study provides data on
cognitive symptoms that researchers have used to predict the development
of dementia, and also to investigate whether the symptoms have changed in
recent generations. The study involves a large proportion of 70-year-olds
from "Using the test results,
we've tried to identify people who are at risk of developing
dementia," says Simona Sacuiu, resident in psychiatry at The 70-year-olds born in 1930
and examined in 2000 performed better in the intelligence tests than their
predecessors born in 1901-02 and examined in 1971. There were no
differences in test results between 70-year-olds who developed dementia
and those who did not over the next five years in the group born in 1930
and examined in 2000, while many of the tests identified early signs of
dementia in the group born in 1901-02. "The improvement can
partly be explained by better pre- and neonatal care, better nutrition,
higher quality of education, better treatment of high blood pressure and
other vascular diseases, and not least the higher intellectual
requirements of today's society, where access to advanced technology,
television and the Internet has become part of everyday life," says
Dr. Sacuiu. The study showed that memory
problems were the only predictor of which 70-year-olds were at risk of
developing dementia. However, far from all of the 70-year-olds with a poor
memory went on to develop the illness. "That's why it's important
for people with memory problems to receive a thorough examination,"
explains Dr. Sacuiu. "If we are to identify dementia effectively at
an early stage, we need good tools that include psychometric tests.
However, these must constantly be adapted to new generations, as older
people are performing better and better in standardised psychometric
tests." At the same time, the incidence
of dementia remained unchanged – it is just as common between the age of
70 and 75 today as it was 30 years ago. The study included over 800
dementia-free 70-year-olds, 5% of whom went on to develop the illness over
the subsequent five years. "Learning more about the
early signs of dementia means that patients may get help and support more
quickly," says Dr. Sacuiu. THE H70 STUDY
The study started in 1971 with
an examination of 70-year-olds who were then regularly followed over a
period of 30 years. A new H70 study started in the year 2000, and is still
ongoing. Data from a total of more than 2,000 senior Gothenburg residents
are included in these studies. The participants have been examined both
physically and psychiatrically and have enabled several research groups to
describe different trends in physical and mental health in the aging
population. More Information on US Health Issues
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