BBC News - Brain Function Can Start Declining 'As Early As Age 45'

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6 January 2012 Last updated at 01:08 GMT
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Brain function can start declining 'as early as age 45'

The brain's ability to function can start to deteriorate as early as 45, suggests a study in the British Medical Journal. University College London researchers found a 3.6% decline in mental reasoning in women and men aged 45-49. They assessed the memory, vocabulary and comprehension skills of 7,000 men and women aged 45 to 70 over 10 years.
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The Alzheimer's Society said research was needed into how changes in the brain could help dementia diagnoses. Previous research had suggested that cognitive decline does not begin much before the age of 60. But the results of this study show that it could in fact begin in middle age. This is important, the researchers say, because dementia treatments are more likely to work at the time when individuals start to experience mental impairment. The UCL researchers tested the cognitive functions of 5,198 men and 2,192 women aged 45 to 70, who were all UK civil servants, from 1997 to 2007. Individuals were tested for memory, vocabulary and aural and visual comprehension skills. Differences in education level were taken into account.
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The results of the tests show that cognitive scores declined in all categories except vocabulary - and there was a faster decline in older people. The study found a 9.6% decline in mental reasoning in men aged 65-70 and a 7.4% decline for women of the same age. For men and women aged 45-49, there was a 3.6% decline. Professor Archana Singh-Manoux from the Centre for Research in Epidemiology and Population Health in France, who led the research team at University College London, said the evidence from the study showed that dementia involved cognitive decline over two to three decades. "We now need to look at who experiences cognitive decline more than the average and how we stop the decline. Some level of prevention is definitely possible. "Rates of dementia are going to soar and health behaviours like smoking and physical activity are linked to levels of cognitive function. "It's important to identify the risk factors early. If the disease has started
Although we don't yet have a surefire way to prevent dementia, we do know that simple lifestyle changes can all reduce the risk of dementia
Dr Simon Ridley Alzheimer's Research UK
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Brain function declines from 45 Men 'unhappy with beer bellies' The day Kim Jong-il gave me a Rolex Probe into film on Bin Laden raid Turkey's ex-army chief arrested Third sex charge for footballer Tymoshenko husband 'seeks asylum'
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-16425522[06/01/2012 11:12:30]
in an individual's 50s but we only start looking at risk in their 60s, then how do you start separating cause and effect?"
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Dr Anne Corbett, research manager at the Alzheimer's Society, said the study added to the debate on when cognitive decline began, but it left some questions unanswered. "The study does not tell us whether any of these people went on to develop dementia, nor how feasible it would be for GPs to detect these early changes. "More research is now needed to help us fully understand how measurable changes in the brain can help us improve diagnosis of dementia." Dr Simon Ridley, head of research at Alzheimer's Research UK, said he wanted to see similar studies carried out in a wider population sample. He added: "Previous research suggests that our health in mid-life affects our risk of dementia as we age, and these findings give us all an extra reason to stick to our New Year's resolutions. "Although we don't yet have a sure-fire way to prevent dementia, we do know that simple lifestyle changes - such as eating a healthy diet, not smoking, and keeping blood pressure and cholesterol in check - can all reduce the risk of dementia." Professor Lindsey Davies, president of the Faculty of Public Health, said that people should not wait until their bodies and minds broke down before taking action. "We need only look at the problems that childhood obesity rates will cause if they are not addressed to see how important it is that we take 'cradle to grave' approach to public health."
Video/Audio If the disease has started in an individual's 50s but we only start looking at risk in their 60s, then how do you start separating cause and effect?
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Timing of onset of cognitive decline: results from Whitehall II prospective cohort study | BMJ
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Timing of onset of cognitive decline: results from Whitehall II prospective cohort study
BMJ 2012; 344 doi: 10.1136/bmj.d7622 (Published 5 January 2012) Cite this as: BMJ 2012;344:d7622
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Archana Singh-Manoux, research director 1 2 3 , Mika Kivimaki, professor of social epidemiology2 , M Maria Glymour, assistant professor 4 , Alexis Elbaz, research director 5 6 , Claudine Berr, research director 7 8 , Klaus P Ebmeier, professor of old age psychiatry 9 , Jane E Ferrie, senior research fellow10 , Aline Dugravot, statistician 1 Author Affiliations Correspondence to: A Singh-Manoux, INSERM, U1018, Centre for Research in Epidemiology and Population Health, Hpital Paul Brousse, Bt 15/16, 16 Avenue Paul Vaillant Couturier, 94807 Villejuif Cedex, France Archana.SinghManoux@inserm.fr Accepted 26 October 2011 http://www.bmj.com/content/344/bmj.d7622[06/01/2012 11:13:50]
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Articles by Archana Singh-Manoux Articles by Mika Kivimaki Articles by M Maria Glymour Articles by Alexis Elbaz Articles by Claudine Berr
Articles by Klaus P Ebmeier Articles by Jane E Ferrie
Abstract
Objectives To estimate 10 year decline in cognitive function from longitudinal data in a middle aged cohort and to examine whether age cohorts can be compared with cross sectional data to infer the effect of age on cognitive decline. Design Prospective cohort study. At study inception in 1985-8, there were 10 308 participants, representing a recruitment rate of 73%. Setting Civil service departments in London, United Kingdom. Participants 5198 men and 2192 women, aged 45-70 at the beginning of cognitive testing in 1997-9. Main outcome measure Tests of memory, reasoning, vocabulary, and phonemic and semantic fluency, assessed three times over 10 years. Results All cognitive scores, except vocabulary, declined in all five age categories (age 45-49, 50-54, 55-59, 60-64, and 65-70 at baseline), with evidence of faster decline in older people. In men, the 10 year decline, shown as change/range of test100, in reasoning was 3.6% (95% confidence interval 4.1% to 3.0%) in those aged 45-49 at baseline and 9.6% (10.6% to 8.6%) in those aged 65-70. In women, the corresponding decline was 3.6% (4.6% to 2.7%) and 7.4% (9.1% to 5.7%). Comparisons of longitudinal and cross sectional effects of age suggest that the latter overestimate decline in women because of cohort differences in education. For example, in women aged 45-49 the longitudinal analysis showed reasoning to have declined by 3.6% (4.5% to 2.8%) but the cross sectional effects suggested a decline of 11.4% (14.0% to 8.9%). Conclusions Cognitive decline is already evident in middle age (age 45-49).
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Introduction
Continuing increases in life expectancy imply fundamental changes to the population structure and an exponential increase in the number of elderly people. 1 2 These changes are likely to have a profound influence on individuals lives and society at large. Poor cognitive status is perhaps the single most disabling condition in old age. There is a finely graded inverse association between age and cognitive performance,3 4 5 but the age at which cognitive decline becomes evident at the http://www.bmj.com/content/344/bmj.d7622[06/01/2012 11:13:50]
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Timing of onset of cognitive decline: results from Whitehall II prospective cohort study | BMJ population level remains the subject of debate. 5 6 7 A recent review of the literature concluded that there was little evidence of cognitive decline before the age of 60.8 This point of view, however, is not universally accepted. 5 6 Clinicopathological studies show good correlation between neuropathology and the severity of cognitive decline, 9 10 11 and neurofibrillary tangles and amyloid plaques, the hallmarks of pathology, are known to be present in the brains of young adults. 12 13 Emerging consensus on the long gestation period of dementia 14 15 also suggests that adults aged under 60 are likely to experience age related cognitive decline. The assessment of the effect of age on cognitive decline is not straightforward as longitudinal data that span many decades are rare. Cross sectional data might not accurately distinguish longitudinal changethat is, the effect of chronological age from secular change, also called cohort effects. The age at which cognitive decline begins is important because behavioural or pharmacological interventions designed to alter cognitive ageing trajectories are more likely to work if they are applied when individuals first begin to experience decline. We examined whether cognitive decline begins before the age of 60 using a large sample of middle aged adults from the longitudinal Whitehall II cohort study. We also evaluated the bias in estimates of cognitive decline drawn from cross sectional data.
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Methods
Study population
The Whitehall II cohort was established in 1985 among 10 308 (67% men) British civil servants.16 All civil servants aged 35-55 in 20 London based departments were invited to participate by letter, and 73% agreed. Although all participants in the study are white collar workers, a wide range of occupations is represented with a salary difference of over 10-fold between the top and bottom of the hierarchy. Study inception (phase 1) was over the years 1985-8 and involved a clinical examination and a self administered questionnaire. Subsequent phases of data collection have alternated between inclusion of a questionnaire alone and a questionnaire accompanied by a clinical examination. The focus of the clinical examination is anthropometry, cardiovascular and metabolic risk factors, and disease. Cognitive testing was introduced to the full cohort during the clinical examination at phase 5 (1997-9) and repeated at phases 7 (2002-4) and 9 (2007-9), alongside the standard Whitehall II clinical screening measures.
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Age
At baseline for this study (phase 5 of Whitehall II) participants were aged 45-70. To allow comparison of cognitive decline as a function of age we categorised this in five year age groups: 45-49, 50-54, 55-59, 60-64, and 65-70.
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Cognitive function
The cognitive test battery, administered at three clinical examinations over 10 years (phases 5, 7, and 9), was chosen to provide a comprehensive assessment of http://www.bmj.com/content/344/bmj.d7622[06/01/2012 11:13:50]
Timing of onset of cognitive decline: results from Whitehall II prospective cohort study | BMJ cognitive function and be appropriate for this population composed of individuals younger than in most studies on cognitive ageing. The mini-mental state examination, 17 although included in the test battery, was not used in the current analysis because of ceiling effects (that is, simple tests leading to little variability in scores). The tests included in the analysis, described below, had good test-retest reliability (range 0.60-0.89) in 556 participants who were invited back to the clinic within three months of having taken the test at baseline. The Alice Heim 4-I (AH4-I) is composed of a series of 65 verbal and mathematical reasoning items of increasing difficulty.18 It tests inductive reasoning, measuring the ability to identify patterns and infer principles and rules. Participants had 10 minutes to do this section. Short term verbal memory was assessed with a 20 word free recall test. Participants were presented a list of 20 one or two syllable words at two second intervals and were then asked to recall in writing as many of the words in any order within two minutes. We used two measures of verbal fluency: phonemic and semantic. 19 Participants were asked to recall in writing as many words beginning with S (phonemic fluency) and as many animal names (semantic fluency) as they could. One minute was allowed for each test; the observed range on these tests was 0-35. Vocabulary was assessed with the Mill Hill vocabulary test,20 used in its multiple choice format, consisting of a list of 33 stimulus words ordered by increasing difficulty and six response choices.
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Education
Education was assessed with a three level variable: did not complete secondary school, obtained higher qualification at secondary school (at about age 18), and obtained university degree or higher. Results with continuous years of education were similar and are not presented.
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Statistical analysis
We first examined the cross sectional associations between age (in five categories) and the cognitive tests at baseline using linear regression. A linear test for trend was used to assess whether cognitive scores were progressively lower in older age cohorts. The age cohortsex interactions (all tests P<0.001) led us to stratify these analyses by sex. Linear mixed models21 were used to estimate cognitive decline over follow-up. This method uses all available data over follow-up, takes into account the fact that repeated measures on the same individual are correlated with each other, and can handle missing data. In these analyses both the intercept and the slope were fitted as random effects, allowing individuals to have different cognitive scores at baseline and different rates of cognitive decline over the follow-up. As the age cohorttimesex interactions (reasoning P=0.59; memory P=0.12; phonemic fluency P=0.005; semantic fluency P=0.02; and vocabulary P=0.006) suggested sex differences in http://www.bmj.com/content/344/bmj.d7622[06/01/2012 11:13:50]
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Timing of onset of cognitive decline: results from Whitehall II prospective cohort study | BMJ cognitive decline for some tests, we also stratified these analyses by sex. The models included terms for time (age in years, divided by 10 so the coefficients yield effects of decline over 10 years), age cohorts (age at baseline in five year bands) to adjust for secular effects, and an interaction term between age cohort and time, separately in men and women. This last interaction term allows the calculation of the estimate of 10 year decline in the five age cohorts, undertaken with the original scale for all tests. As the range of the five cognitive tests is different, a decline of one point on the original scalesof the tests is not comparable. To allow comparison across cognitive tests, we also express cognitive decline in terms of percentage change as a function of the range of each test (estimate of 10 year decline/range of test100). To assess whether the decline was greater at older ages with the test for linear trend, we reran the analysis using the categories of age as a continuous variable. We then examined the cross sectional versus longitudinal effects of age; we show results only for the youngest age cohort but they were similar for all age cohorts (results available from the first author on request). The longitudinal estimate was drawn from mixed models with three cognitive assessments over 10 years in individuals aged 45-49 at baseline. The cross sectional estimate of ageing was simply the difference in cognitive scores at baseline between those aged 45-49 and 55-59 at baseline. These analyses were then adjusted for education to examine its impact on the longitudinal and cross sectional estimates of ageing. All cognitive decline results are expressed as percent change (change/range of test100) to allow comparison between the tests. Supplementary tables on bmj.com show results with the original scales for the tests. All the analyses were carried out with Proc Mixed procedure from the SAS software version 9.1 (SAS Institute, Cary, NC, USA).
Results
Of the 10 308 participants at study inception (1985-8), 306 had died and 752 had withdrawn from the study before the start of the cognitive data collection in 1997-9. Our analysis was based on 7390 (5198 men and 2192 women) of the 9250 individuals still in the study. Those included in the analyses were more educated (29.5% v 20.8% had a university degree, P<0.001) and were younger (response rates were 84% (1526/1818) in those aged 45-49, 82% (2160/2643) in those aged 50-54, 79% (1580/1992) in those aged 55-59, 79% (1564/1976) in those aged 60-64, and 68% (560/821) in those aged 65-70). Of the 7390 individuals included in the analysis, we had complete data for 4675 (63%) at all three phases, 1613 at two phases, and 1102 at only one phase. During the 10 year follow-up, 305/7390 (4%) died. Mortality over this period was higher in those with poorer cognitive scores at baseline (P<0.01 on all tests). Exclusion of these individuals from the analysis did not modify the results much, leading us to retain them in the analyses. Table 1 presents characteristics of the participants included in the analysis and their baseline cognitive scores (phase 5, http://www.bmj.com/content/344/bmj.d7622[06/01/2012 11:13:50]
Timing of onset of cognitive decline: results from Whitehall II prospective cohort study | BMJ 1997-9). There was a cross sectional association between age at baseline, categorised into five age cohorts of five years each spanning 45-70 years, and all cognitive scores (all P<0.001), except vocabulary in men (P=0.13) (see table A on bmj.com).
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Table 1Characteristics of study population in Whitehall II. Figures are numbers (percentage) unless stated otherwise
The figure
presents estimates of cognitive decline, expressed as percent change
(change/range of test100) over the 10 year follow-up period using three waves of data (results using the original scale for the tests are shown in supplementary table B on bmj.com). There was some evidence of greater decline at older ages and of a linear trend in decline with increasing age for some of the tests, particularly in men (fig 1 and table B on bmj.com). For example, in men aged 45-49 at baseline, 10 year decline in reasoning was 3.6% (95% confidence interval 4.1% to 3.0%) while in those aged 65-70 it was 9.6% (10.6% to 8.6%). In women, the corresponding decline was 3.6% (4.6% to 2.7%) in those aged 45-49 and 7.4% (9.1% to 5.7%) in those aged 65-70. The results for all tests, except vocabulary, showed significant declines in all age categories in both men and women as the confidence intervals did not include zero.
http://www.bmj.com/content/344/bmj.d7622[06/01/2012 11:13:50]
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Decline in cognitive test scores over 10 years (% change=change/range of text100) as function of baseline age cohort in men and women, estimated from linear mixed models. P values denote test for linear trend across age categories, derived by entering them as continuous variable
In the final set of analyses we compared the longitudinal and cross sectional effects of age on cognitive decline. The results, presented in table 2 as percent change (change/range of test100) and in table C on bmj.com using the original scale, suggest that in women, but not men, the cross sectional analysis considerably overestimated the effect of ageing. For example, the longitudinal analysis in women shows reasoning to have declined by 3.6% (4.5% to 2.8%) in those aged 45-49 but the cross sectional effects suggest a decline of 11.4% (14.0% to 8.9%). Adjustment for education did not change the longitudinal estimates much but substantially reduced the cross sectional estimates of the effect of ageing on cognitive decline. There were considerable cohort differences in education in women. In men aged 45-49 years at baseline, 30% had less than a secondary school education, 28% had completed secondary school education, and 42% had a university degree. For women the corresponding figures were 34%, 28%, and 40%. For those aged 55-59 at baseline the corresponding figures were 38%, 33%, and 29% for men and 58%, 25%, and 17% for women.
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Table 2Comparison of cognitive decline (expressed as % change*) from longitudinal and cross sectional effects in subsample of participants in Whitehall study
Discussion
This study of a large cohort of individuals aged 45-70 at baseline, using three cognitive assessments over 10 years, presents two key findings. Firstly, average performance in all cognitive domains, except vocabulary, declined over follow-up in all age groups, even in those aged 45-49. The results for vocabulary were expected as it is known to be little influenced by age. 4 Secondly, comparisons of the effect of age in longitudinal and cross sectional analysis suggest that cross sectional data cannot provide reliable estimates of age related cognitive decline because they conflate the effect of age with differences in birth cohorts in key factors such as education. In our study, cross sectional data considerably overestimated cognitive decline among women but not in men, a probable consequence of cohort differences in education. Thus, differences in educational qualifications or other factors between age cohorts would bias estimates of cognitive decline drawn from cross sectional data.
Timing of onset of cognitive decline: results from Whitehall II prospective cohort study | BMJ There are potential caveats to the results reported here. Longitudinal data are known to underestimate the effect of age because of practice effects 22 and are subject to selective sample retention. 23 In our study non-response was higher in the older individuals, affecting both cross sectional as well and longitudinal estimates. As nonresponse was not substantial (the overall response rate was 80% (7390/9250) in those invited to cognitive testing), however, major bias is unlikely. The obvious advantage of using longitudinal analysis is that the estimates of cognitive decline are based on changes within an individual, and these are unlikely to be affected by error arising from natural variation between individuals. The exposure, in this case time over 10 years, is uniformly applicable to all age cohorts in the analysis. It must also be noted that Whitehall II is not representative of the general population. The participants are mostly white collar workers in relatively stable employment and two thirds are men, implying that our results could underestimate cognitive decline at the population level. The sex specific cohort differences in educational attainment seen in this sample, however, reflect global trends in educational opportunities across the 20th century.24 25 The age at which cognitive decline begins is subject to much debate. 5 6 7 26 A recent review of studies concluded that there is no cognitive decline before the age of 60.8 This conclusion was drawn mostly from results of the Seattle longitudinal study, in which 500 individuals, with an age range at baseline from early 20s to late 60s, have been followed since 1956 with the addition of new participants at successive waves of data collection. 27 In another study, 149 individuals aged 30-81 were followed for 16 years, and results showed little cognitive decline before the age of 55.28 One challenge in small scale studies set up to investigate cognitive ageing is that they might be based on a selected sample of individuals. Estimates of cognitive decline can also be biased because of the existence of practice and learning effects,22 28 known to vary as a complex function of age, level of ability, and complexity of task. 22 The rates of decline in cognitive test scores we estimated might understate the actual rate of decline because practice effects can offset age related declines. Our finding of declines in even the youngest age group (age 45-49) is all the more compelling because it is presumably a lower bound estimate. Given the complexity of assessing cognitive decline, some authors support the use of cross sectional data to estimate the effects of ageing on cognitive function. 5 29 30 These estimates, however, reflect both the effects of chronological ageing and cohort effects, each produced by distinct underlying mechanisms. Age effects are caused by changes that people go through as they get older and reflect biological ageing. Cohort effects are produced when a birth cohort enters adult life with long lasting effects on cognitive function because of childhood experiences like quality of education, nutrition, socioeconomic circumstances, etc. 31 32 33 Our data show larger cohort effects in women because of differences in educational attainment across the birth cohorts in our study population. Adjustment for education does not adequately deal with this problem for two reasons. Firstly, education, as measured, might not capture all effects related to cohort differences; secondly, it might overcorrect the estimate for cognitive decline by attributing shared variance between age and education to the http://www.bmj.com/content/344/bmj.d7622[06/01/2012 11:13:50]
Timing of onset of cognitive decline: results from Whitehall II prospective cohort study | BMJ latter (education).
Implications and conclusions

Adverse cognitive outcomes like dementia are now thought to be the result of long term processes over at least 20-30 years,14 15 leading some authors to argue for the importance of approaches during life.15 34 Despite much research on early diagnosis, pathophysiological and clinical studies have yet to identify biomarkers or cognitive profiles that accurately predict dementia.3 35 36 Nevertheless, there is enough evidence to show the importance of healthy lifestyles and cardiovascular risk factors in adulthood for dementia.35 36 For some of these risk factors, such as obesity, hypertension, and hypercholesterolaemia, it is mid-life levels that seem to be more important than those measured at older ages. 35 There is emerging consensus that what is good for our hearts is also good for our heads, 36 37 making aggressive control of behavioural and cardiovascular risk factors as early as possible key targets for clinical practice and public health. Our results have profound implications for the design of research used in studies of ageing. Much research in this domain, including that on dementia, assesses both putative risk factors and trajectories of cognitive decline in elderly people. While this allows a sufficient number of people with dementia to be identified with follow-ups of less than 10 years, the implicit assumption made in these studies is that there is little cognitive decline until old age or that the decline, including the rate of decline, in those aged less than 60 is not clinically important. One likely consequence of studies on older people is that some of the risk factors uncovered could simply be correlates of the disease process rather than causes of the outcome under investigation. Life expectancy continues to increase,1 and understanding cognitive ageing will be one of the challenges of this century. We explicitly examined the impact of age on cognitive decline because better understanding of both adverse and healthy cognitive ageing trajectories might help the identification of early risk factors for adverse cognitive outcomes. There are other changes occurring: the draft fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental disorders (www.dsm5.org) suggests replacing dementia with major and minor neurocognitive disorder, a change that is likely to focus attention on better understanding of the effect of age on cognition. Future research needs to identify the determinants of cognitive decline and assess the extent to which the cognitive trajectories of individuals are modifiable. We examined mean decline in each age group but individuals who experience declines greater than the mean decline in their age group, particularly at younger ages, might merit further attention. Determining the age window at which potential interventions are likely to be most beneficial is also a crucial next step.
What is already known on this topic

Cognitive function declines with age; impaired cognitive status is a hallmark of http://www.bmj.com/content/344/bmj.d7622[06/01/2012 11:13:50]
Timing of onset of cognitive decline: results from Whitehall II prospective cohort study | BMJ dementia The age at which cognitive decline begins remains unknown, though a recent review of the literature suggests there is little evidence of decline before the age of 60
What this study adds

Longitudinal modelling of cognitive decline using three measures over 10 years provides robust evidence of cognitive decline at all ages between 45 and 70, even among those aged 45-49 at baseline The 10 year decline in reasoning was 3.5% in men aged 45-49 at baseline and 9.6% among those aged 65-70; the corresponding figures for women were 3.6% and 7.4% Age related decline in cognitive function cannot be assessed accurately with cross sectional data
Notes
Cite this as: BMJ 2011;343:d7622
Footnotes
We thank all the participating civil service departments and their welfare, personnel, and establishment officers; the British Occupational Health and Safety Agency; the British Council of Civil Service Unions; all participating civil servants in the Whitehall II study; and all members of the Whitehall II study team. The Whitehall II Study team comprises research scientists, statisticians, study coordinators, nurses, data managers, administrative assistants, and data entry staff, who make the study possible. Contributors: AS-M wrote the first and successive drafts of the paper. AD carried out all the statistical analysis. All authors contributed to the interpretation of results and revision of the paper and approved the final version of the paper. AS-M is guarantor. Funding: ASM is supported by a European Young Investigator Award from the European Science Foundation and the National Institute on Aging, NIH (R01AG013196 [PI]; R01AG034454 [PI]). MK is supported by the BUPA Foundation, the National Institutes of Health (R01HL036310 [PI]; R01AG034454 [PI]) and the Academy of Finland. The Whitehall II study is also supported by a grant from the British Medical Research Council (G0902037) and the British Heart Foundation. The funding bodies had no role in the study design, the collection, analysis and interpretation of data, the writing, and the decision to submit the paper. Competing interests: All authors have completed the ICMJE uniform disclosure form http://www.bmj.com/content/344/bmj.d7622[06/01/2012 11:13:50]
Timing of onset of cognitive decline: results from Whitehall II prospective cohort study | BMJ at www.icmje.org/coi_disclosure.pdf (available on request from the corresponding author) and declare: no support from any organisation for the submitted work; no financial relationships with any organisations that might have an interest in the submitted work in the previous three years; no other relationships or activities that could appear to have influenced the submitted work. Ethical approval: This study was approved by the University College London ethics committee, and all participants provided written consent. Data sharing: Whitehall II data, protocols, and other metadata are available to the scientific community. Please refer to the Whitehall II data sharing policy at www.ucl.ac.uk/whitehallII/data-sharing. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial License, which permits use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non commercial and is otherwise in compliance with the license. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/ and http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/legalcode.
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El deterioro cognitivo puede comenzar a partir de los 45 aos | Sociedad | EL PAS
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El deterioro cognitivo puede comenzar a partir de los 45 aos

La memoria, el razonamiento y la comprensin empezaran a declinar antes de lo previsto As lo indica un estudio cientfico publicado en el 'British Medical Journal'
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Las capacidades del cerebro, como la memoria, el razonamiento y la comprensin (funcin cognitiva), pueden empezar a deteriorarse a partir de los 45 aos de edad, segn un estudio publicado en el British Medical Journal (BMJ). El estudio, efectuado por investigadores del Univesity College London (Reino Unido), ha determinado un deterioro del 3,6% en la capacidad de razonamiento de hombres y mujeres de entre 45 y 49 aos. Las conclusiones se basan en el anlisis de cerca de 7.000 individuos (5.198 hombres y 2.192 mujeres) durante un perodo de 10 aos, a partir de 1997. Todos los participantes eran funcionarios con edades comprendidas entre los 45 y los 70 aos, y formaban parte del estudio de cohortes Whitehall II, establecido en 1985. Las funciones cognitivas de los participantes se evaluaron tres veces durante el perodo de estudio, segn la memoria, el vocabulario y las habilidades de comprensin auditiva y visual -teniendo en cuenta las diferencias en el nivel de educacin. Los resultados muestran que las puntuaciones cognitivas se redujeron en todas las categoras (memoria, razonamiento, fluidez fonolgica y semntica), excepto en el vocabulario, y no hubo una disminucin ms rpida en las personas mayores.
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El dato es importante "para la sanidad y la prevencin de la demencia", seala un experto
Asimismo, tambin revelan que, durante el perodo de estudio de 10 aos, se produjo un descenso del 3,6% en el razonamiento mental en los hombres de entre 45-49 aos y un descenso del 9,6% en los de 6570. Las cifras correspondientes para mujeres fueron de 3,6% y 7,4%. El reto del envejecimiento mental La comprensin del envejecimiento cognitivo ser uno de los retos de este siglo, sobre todo si la esperanza de vida sigue aumentando, segn
http://sociedad.elpais.com/sociedad/2012/01/06/actualidad/1325843732_707303.html[06/01/2012 20:57:04]
sealan los investigadores britnicos, dirigidos por Archana SinghManoux, del Centro de Investigacin en Epidemiologa y Salud Pblica, en Francia. Aaden que es importante investigar la edad en que comienza el deterioro cognitivo, debido a que las intervenciones mdicas producen mejores resultados en una etapa temprana del deterioro mental. Los autores argumentan que la evidencia robusta que muestra el declive cognitivo antes de la edad de 60 aos tiene importantes implicaciones, ya que demuestra la importancia de promover estilos de vida saludables, en particular, la salud cardiovascular, ya que, segn nuevos estudios, "lo que es bueno para el corazn, tambin es bueno para la cabeza". Los cientficos aaden que las medidas y tratamientos de los pacientes que sufren de uno o ms factores de riesgo para enfermedades del corazn (obesidad, presin arterial alta y niveles altos de colesterol) no slo podran proteger el corazn, sino tambin protegerlos de la demencia en la vejez. En un editorial adjunto, Francine Grodstein, profesora de Medicina del Hospital Brigham and Women, de Boston (EE UU), afirma que el estudio "tiene profundas implicaciones para la salud pblica y la prevencin de la demencia".
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El cerebro empieza a deteriorarse a los 45 aos
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El deterioro cognitivo puede comenzar a partir de los 45 aos
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Ms calle para los nios, si es posible Un mono con seis progenitores Una vida de bajo coste Twitter falla en el control de falsas identidades La energa nuclear fue la ms utilizada en Espaa en 2011 La industria baja los humos al coche elctrico La ciencia dice que la gente no nace gay Tarragona no atiende infartos despus de las cinco de la tarde
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Me doy cuenta que la mayoria de los que escriben aqui, desmienten la informacin o la justifican con otros supuestos...o sea estan pasaditos de edad...ja ja ja ja jajaja . son bromas, son bromas...la verdad el estudio es claro, y habla de una gran mayora, de manera que no todos los que sobrepasan los 45 aos van a sufrir estos problemas. Pero si ya se te olvida donde dejas las llaves, o cuando te pasas buscando los anteojos cuando los llevas puesto, o cuando metes al congelador la sal, el azucar, o algo que no tiene porque congelarse...o cuando fijas la mirada sobre un sitio, y de repente te sobrepones y a pasado una hora ja ja ja a jaja ja, ya es de preocuparce.
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Maruja Torres aborigen
i si vols comentar, no deixis de fer-ho, hem format un grup molt animat i revoltat
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Anna Sanchez furiado
S, en plenas facultades seniles...

Hace 32 minutos
aborigen marujatorres
No sc gaire bona amb aix del Facebook per et visitar a la teva web. Moltes grcies... em fa molta il.lusi.
Hace 41 minutos
jakuba
Este artculo me lo puedo creer en parte, pero del todo, nada de nada. Hay funciones, como la madurez mental, que solo la ofrecen los aos, producto de la experiencia, y que aportan sensated, capacidad de anlisis que permite contrastar el pasado, llegando a las conclusiones del presente. Y si a la sabidura que aportan los aos, la conjuntamos con los adelantos cientficos para mejorar el envejecimiento de la mente, se podra decir, que unas de las transiciones ms magnficas que ofrece el ser humano, sera llegar a ser mayor,con la grandeza que implica dicho trmino, y es que ya me lo deca mi abuelo...
Hace 46 minutos
Maruja Torres aborigen
doncs pots demanar-me-la a facebook, si s que hi ets -maruja torres manzanera-, amb un missatge personal; i pots comunicar-te amb mi al meu blog: www.marujetorres.com salut i bona sort i molta fora!
Hace 1 hora
aborigen marujatorres
Hola, Maruja!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!: Desde hace 30 aos que admiro tu cerebro y tu pluma, i sempre he pensat que m'hauria agradat molt ser amiga teva. Salut i bona sort!!
Hace 1 hora
bubbles peanuts
Es cierto todos sabemos que el declive fisico empieza a partir de los 30 aos(casi nadie ficha a jugadores de futbol en torno a esa edad) y todos sabemos cuando hemos intentado por ejemplo estudiar cuando por ejemplo estamos rondando los cuarenta que nos cuesta ms. Pero bueno siempre nos quedara el consuelo de que Cervantes escribi el Quijote cerca de los 60 o Goya hizo muchas de sus mejores obras despues de esa edad. Hay que esforzarse.
Hace 2 horas
flutedog
No niego que este estudio pueda tener parte de razn pero tambin es cierto que a partir de los 45-50 aos ves algunas cosas mucho ms claras que a edad ms temprana.
Hace 3 horas
un_mundo_cultural
Vaya, ahora entiendo muchas cosas. La bazofia televisiva tambin acelera ese proceso? http://cort.as/1RPR
Hace 3 horas
aca
Pues yo s me lo creo. Ah tenemos, sin ir ms lejos, a Rajoy, a Zapatero...

Hace 3 horas
furiado
No me lo creo. De hecho todos conocemos a mas de un anciano que esta en plenas facultades.
Hace 3 horas
tortelin
Y con los programas basura de la tele mucho antes, desde la adolescencia.

Hace 3 horas
sanuki
El deterioro cognitivo puede comenzar a partir de los 45 aos | Sociedad | EL PAS Como todo, el deterioro neuronal depender de cada individuo. As como hay abueletes de 60 aos capaces de acabar un maratn de 42 kilmetros en 3 horas, nos encontramos a gente como Miguel Delibes, que a los 80 aos estaba publicando un noveln como "El hereje". As que no nos preocupemos con chorradas y vivamos mientras nuestras facultades nos permitan hacerlo.
Hace 4 horas
arbinaga
Esta es la tpica noticia parcializada, coloreada de supuesta indagacin cientfica y mucho pasteleo para ganarse una pasta gansa y alguna publicacin extendindose por los medios mundiales. Una aberrante barbaridad. No se trata de que, entre muchas pruebas, elegidas unas cuantas al caso se observe (faltara ms) alguna disminucin. Lo acientfico, lo pobre, lo idiota y mediocre es que no se detecte incremento en los muchos valores cognitivos que crecen con la edad, y en la mucha capacidad de ir al grano (tambin asociada a la edad). No se lo crean sin ms. De la inteligencia, la memoria, la capacidad cognitiva, lo que de verdad, en sus mecanismos esenciales y fundamentales, sabemos en cuanto al cmo medirlas ... es con perdn ... muy poco, casi nada an (aunque parezca otra cosa, y nos muestren supuestas imgenes muy coloridas). nimo y cudense lo mejor posible ... no duden en aprovechar las muchas capacidades incrementadas con la edad. Sean ciertos.
Hace 4 horas
peanuts
Tampoco es para rasgarse las vestiduras. Hacerse viejo es exctamente eso: perder funcionalidad. Los que hemos pasado de los 45 ya lo vamos notando en la vista y otras funciones. Cuanto ms viejos nos hacemos ms dificil es compensar esas carencias. Lo importante es vivirlo lo mejor posible y cuando ya no se pueda, pues nada, a morirse, que ya se ha vivido bastante.
Hace 4 horas
juanjuan
Todo esto es ms falso que un gato de escayola, lo que hace falta es quitar entretenimientos tan precisamente colocados por los "arquitectos- ingenieros sociales" de estos grupos que intentan controlar el "mundo", que saben que cuanto peor sea la calidad del entretenimiento ms dormida est la gente y ms fcil "dominarlos". PERDONAD, PERO HACE FALTA DESPERTAR, DE T A T, QUE MUCHAS FORMAS DE FUNCIONAR EN EL MUNDO SON OBSOLETAS, Y OS RECOMIENDO ECHAR UN VISTAZO A ZERO, DOCUMENTAL QUE MUESTRA LA PUNTA DEL ICEBERG DE MUCHAS COSAS QUE ESTN PASANDO A NIVEL GEOESTRATGICO. Y ADEMS NOSOTROS MEJORAMOS CON LOS AOS, PORQUE NO SOMOS MOLDEABLES CON TODOS LOS INTENTOS DE OCULTACIN DE INFORMACIN ETC: http://cort.as/1T_5
Hace 5 horas
partisana
es evidente que esta noticia da por supuesto que sus lectores sufren ya este deterioro.
Hace 5 horas
partisana
El deterioro cognitivo puede comenzar a partir de los 45 aos | Sociedad | EL PAS es decir: 3 pruebas SLO en 10 aos son la prueba emprica? 3 pruebas en 10 aos a un sector parcial de la poblacin. ah. me abstendr de gastar energa neuronal en aadir ms perogrullos.
Hace 5 horas
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BBC News - Brain Function Can Start Declining 'As Early As Age 45'

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presents estimates of cognitive decline, expressed as percent change

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Implications and conclusions

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population ageing. Nature 2008;451:716-9. 3.

and public health. Nat Rev Neurosci 2007;8:233-9. Science 4.

advancing age. Rev Clin Gerontol 1991;1:81-96. 5.

Nilsson LG, Sternang O, Ronnlund M, Nyberg L. Challenging the notion of an

neuroscience. Nat Rev Neurosci 2004;5:87-96. 9.

Nelson PT, Braak H, Markesbery WR. Neuropathology and cognitive

Aging 2005;26:335-40. 16.

Epidemiol 2005;34:251-6. 17.

Folstein MF, Folstein SE, McHugh PR. Mini-mental state. A practical

Neuropsychologica 1967;5:135-40. 20.

Biometrics 1982;38:963-74. 22.

Rabbitt P, Diggle P, Smith D, Holland F, Mc Innes L. Identifying and

Aging 1991;12:1-2. 27.

Schaie KW. The course of adult intellectual development. Am CrossRef Medline

Psychol 1994;49:304-13. 28.

Rev 1965;30:843-61. 32.

Schaie KW, Labouvie-Vief G. Generational versus ontogenetic components

late-onset dementias. Lancet Neurol 2006;5:87-96. Science 35.

Ballard C, Gauthier S, Corbett A, Brayne C, Aarsland D, Jones E. CrossRef Medline Web of

Alzheimers disease. Lancet 2011;377:1019-31. Science 36.

Richards M, Brayne C. What do we mean by Alzheimers disease? FREE Full Text

BMJ 2010;341:c4670. 37.

how to move forward? Neurology 2009;72:368-74.

FOLLOW BMJ ON http://www.bmj.com/content/344/bmj.d7622[06/01/2012 11:13:50]

2011 BMJ Publishing Group Ltd

El deterioro cognitivo puede comenzar a partir de los 45 aos | Sociedad | EL PAS

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El deterioro cognitivo puede comenzar a partir de los 45 aos