American seniors are 'smarter' than older British people

According to a study, the elderly in the United States achieved better results than the elderly in the UK in tests of memory and cognitive function.

This is the first international comparative study of cognitive function performed on the elderly subjects of the UK and the US. The results report was published in the June 25 issue of BMC Geriatrics.

'It is quite surprising that the results of cognitive activities of older Americans are better than older British people, because the factors associated with the risk of cardiovascular disease are more common in Americans, which is often accompanied by a decline in cognitive ability and mental activity, 'said Kenneth Langa, lead researcher and lecturer at the University of Michigan.

In the experiment, Langa and colleagues compared data of 8,299 Americans age 65 and older with 5,276 older adults in the UK. Tests of cognitive abilities were conducted on these two groups at different times of the year.

The intellectual health of Americans is superior to that of the oldest group - people aged 85 or older. Overall, the difference in cognitive performance of the elderly people of these two countries is very large - reaching the same distance as the difference in ability between the 10-year and older groups.

In other words, on average, the cognitive activity of 75-year-olds in the United States is as good as those of 65-year-olds in the UK.

Data on American elderly for this study were taken from the Retirement and Health Study, conducted by the UM Social Research Institute (ISR), funded by the National Institute of Aging (NIA). Old English data is taken from the British Elderly Study. Both studies are national studies conducted to facilitate direct comparisons of health, wealth and fitness of older women and men.

'This study is an important step in identifying national differences in the elderly and cognition,' Richard Suzman, director of the NIA's behavioral and social research division. 'More research is needed to identify the interactions that affect cognitive changes in the elderly.'

American seniors are 'smarter' than older British people. (Photo: Seniorcarecost)

Elderly people in both countries participated in the prompt-and-repeat and prompt-re-survey for 10 common nouns. These are the words: hotel, river, tree, skin, gold, village, child, and table. Participants heard these words and were asked to repeat as many words as possible immediately. Then they answered other survey questions and 5 minutes later, were asked to repeat as many of the 10 words as possible. During the interview, participants were asked about the current day, month, year and year. To summarize, the answers (10 points for repeating - immediately - immediately, 10 points for slow - repeat, 4 for orientation) make up a 24 - point scale for cognitive activities of research subjects.

The researchers compared the points classified by each age group, gender and education level, as well as nationality. The average score for cognitive ability of the youngest older British group (65-74 years) is 12.5; of the oldest British group (85 years and older) is 8.3. This figure is 13.8 and 10.1 in the youngest and oldest group of Americans.

According to Langa, a professor of medicine at the UM School of Medicine, higher levels of education and greater wealth in the United States explain some of the greater cognitive abilities of older Americans.

The team also examined the health conditions of participants, risk factors and treatment of stroke, diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, lung disease and cancer. They also collected data on recent debilitating symptoms, smoking, alcohol use, and the limitations they face in everyday life, such as dressing, bathing, Take medicine and manage money.

Older Americans also show a lower level of depressive expression than the British elderly, and according to Langa, this may partly explain American advantage in brain health, as depression is related to cognitive impairment function.

'Other studies conducted in the mid-1990s found that less than 15% of depressed elderly in the UK were treated with drugs, while this figure in the US was 75%,' Langa said. 'Future research should find out whether the widespread use of antidepressants in the United States is a reason for fewer debilitating symptoms, leading to better cognitive activity in older Americans. with older British people or not. '

Langa and colleagues also witnessed significant differences in alcohol consumption between the elderly in the two countries.More than 50% of the elderly in the United States reported no use of alcohol, while this figure in the elderly was 15.5%. Previous research has also shown that moderate alcohol use is associated with better cognition in people over 50 years of age.

David Weir, ISR economist, director of the Health and Retirement Research project, co-authored the current analysis, noting that another study is being continued by economist Robert Willis of ISR shows a link between early retirement and early cognitive decline. This may also be an explanation for poorer cognition in older English, where people often retire earlier than in the United States.

Finally, Langa notes, while high blood pressure is more common in the American elderly, they tend to use more medications. Some studies have shown a link between untreated high blood pressure and a high risk of cognitive impairment.

'In fact, the oldest group of people is an old American group with the greatest difference in cognitive advantage when compared with the older British groups; This supports the hypothesis that diagnosis and treatment is more aggressive for high blood pressure, and possibly for cardiovascular diseases, which leads to less risk of cognitive decline, ' Langa said.

'In the context of an increasing number of elderly people around the world, comparisons between countries in the future with the goal of identifying social and medical factors can prevent or delay the decline in ability. Awareness in the elderly will make an important contribution to community health care. '

See also: Cognitive health among older adults in United States and in England, Kenneth M Langa, David J Llewellyn, Iain A Lang, David R Weir, Robert B Wallace, Mohammed U Kabeto and Felicia A Huppert, BMC Geriatrics (printed books)