It's not too early for a plan to prevent cognitive decline

Summary: Cognitive decline begins early in life with accelerated neurodegeneration. Take realistic steps now to protect brain health.A study just published in The Lancet offers evidence that cognitive decline starts becoming apparent as early as age 45. The authors set out 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."

They assessed 5,198 men and 2,192 women, aged 45-70 at the beginning of cognitive testing in 1997-9 for memory, reasoning, vocabulary, and phonemic and semantic fluency three times over 10 years. Their data confirm an early loss of cognitive function:

"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 test×100, in reasoning was −3.6% in those aged 45-49 at baseline and −9.6% in those aged 65-70. In women, the corresponding decline was −3.6% and −7.4%."

A strategy to protect brain health begins with finding out the individual's specific needs according to the biological basics. Fundamentals that apply equally to adults are listed in the Parents' Guide To Brain Health. The authors conclude with the important observation:

"Cognitive decline is already evident in middle age (age 45-49)."