Slashdot Mirror
Researchers Find 70-Year-Olds Are Getting Smarter
Pickens writes "AlphaGalileo reports that researchers from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden have found in a forty-year study of 2,000 seniors that today's 70-year-olds do far better in intelligence tests than their predecessors, making it more difficult to detect dementia in its early stages. 'Using the test results, we've tried to identify people who are at risk of developing dementia,' says Dr. Simona Sacuiu. 'While this worked well for the group of 70-year-olds born in 1901-02, the same tests didn't offer any clues about who will develop dementia in the later generation of 70-year-olds born in 1930.' 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. '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 Sacuiu."
and get off my alopecurus pratensis!
Table-ized A.I.
...There predecessors are in their 80s and 90s now or dead. If a 70 year old isn't smarter than a dead person, then I don't understand science!
...researchers from the Universiy of Gothenburg, Sweden have found in a forty year study of 2,000 seniors that today's 70-year-olds do far better in intelligence tests than their predecessors making it more difficult to detect dementia in its early stages.
Dammit, seniors! Get dumber so we can detect your dementia!
"I don't care about the Constitution!" --Bill O'Reilly, November 17, 2009
Or is it? NPR recently ran a story reporting that "mentally stimulating lifestyles may speed up dementia once it hits in old age." It's not a long read but it's certainly relevent to the discussion. Maybe these 70-year olds are merely enjoying the delay effects described?
It's probably the case that the mental stimulation is having no effect on the disease itself, but is helping a lot with allowing the effects of the disease to be masked by the increased plasticity of the rest of the brain. In other words, you're going at the same time but you're suffering far less.
"Little does he know, but there is no 'I' in 'Idiot'!"
Your logic is flawed.
Concern for caregivers/families != lack of concern for the patients.
Il n'y a pas de Planet B.
Well they must be getting smarter, they surely can't possibly get any dumber. Being against a public option yet if you try to take away their medicare there'll be hell to pay. I wonder how it is that the stupid seem to often outlive the intelligent.
Stress is a killer, dealing with all the stupid people weakens the smart people and they die sooner. Stupid people are happier and have less stress as they off load it to those smarter than them thus living longer (those that don't win Darwin awards early on). Stupidity has advantages, it is why it will always be with us.
If you are locked up in a room, detached from communication with the outside world and people look at you as a piece of furniture, you expire faster.
Besides, same is true of all animals, not only 70 year old homo sapiens. Me and my neighbour got our dogs from the same litter almost 19 years ago.
He left his dog more or less on its own. It was a happy and long living pup, but died demented at an age of 15 and a half.
My dog (blame the SO as much as me) has had extensive health care -- supplements, regular checkups, and uses a DIY robo-wheel-chair for walks now, because the hind legs cannot support the weight anymore. It is still alive (almost 19 years old) and alert, although completely deaf and almost blind from the cataract.
So, yeah, medical care, attention and stimulation work.
What else is new?
My dad retired from rockwell at 65 and I was worried for while because spent a couple of years cruising around the country with his girlfriend in their winnebago. Not very stimulating and a recipe for a second heart attack IMHO.
But now he is getting into U3A and spending seemingly half the week there. He is teaching courses, taking courses. Reorganising their local area network, installing servers, griping and moaning about this guy who built the sites databases in access, and generally having a fantastic time.
I just wish I could get him to walk or cycle to U3A rather than driving. Its only five km or so and he can't afford to have his heart seize up again.
I think there used to be this expectation that retirement was a time when you could catch up on all that TV you were missing and create the lawn. Baby boomers have different expectations and this may be helping their prospects.
http://michaelsmith.id.au
"todays 70-year-olds are smarter.... because most of them can't afford to retire."
It's in Sweden, their geezers _can_ retire, no problem.
"it's well documented that staying active in the workforce is good for the brain"
And this has to do with Sweden exactly, what?
Sweden, you know, is one of those old European countries USA people would tell as communist as old Soviet Union if some from its life style would be tried in America. Swedish oldies have no problem to retire and they do on average at 61 with all Swedish residents entitled to a state-financed guaranteed minimum pension from the age of 65, which is the standard retirement age over there.
"todays 70-year-olds are smarter.... because most of them can't afford to retire."
Again, USA is not the all and everything of the world.
So which is better:
Patient A: 9 years dementia free, 1 year of dementia, death.
Patient B: 1 year dementia free, 9 years of dementia, death.
Or did you genuinely not understand the point being made?
Slashdot: where don knuth is an idiot because he cant grasp the awesome power of php
Meanwhile in the United States, the popularity of the "Snuggie" suggests that dementia may be setting in as early as age 30.
On Wall Street they say "buy low, sell high" On the pad we say, "buy high, sell high" Isn't that somehow better?