Yale Study Finds 45% of Adults 65+ Improved Function Over 12 Years
Updated
Updated · Ynetnews · Jul 1
Yale Study Finds 45% of Adults 65+ Improved Function Over 12 Years
3 articles · Updated · Ynetnews · Jul 1
Summary
Nearly half of 11,000-plus U.S. adults aged 65 and older improved in cognitive function, physical function or both during up to 12 years of follow-up, according to a Yale study in Geriatrics.
The gains broke down to 32% improving cognitively and 28% physically, measured through cognitive tests and walking speed, with many changes large enough to be clinically significant.
Positive views of aging were tied to a higher likelihood of improvement in both memory and walking speed even after adjusting for age, sex, education, chronic illness, depression and follow-up length.
More than half avoided expected cognitive decline when stable participants were included, and improvement also appeared among people who started with normal function, not just those recovering from illness.
The findings challenge the idea of inevitable late-life decline and support calls for more preventive care, rehabilitation and efforts to shift public attitudes about aging.