Childhood Test Scores May Predict Adult Cognitive Skills

In an effort to better understand age-related changes in memory and thinking skills, researchers in Great Britain embarked on a long-term study that began with a group of 8-year-olds who took cognitive tests in 1946. Results of the study, published recently in Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, found that childhood thinking skills test scores were associated with scores on cognitive tests taken more than 60 years later. An individual who scored in the top 25 percent as an 8-year-old was likely to score in the top 25 percent at age 70. A person’s education level also seemed to have an additional positive effect. Study participants who completed a college degree scored, on average, about 16 percent higher than those who left school before age 16. Having a higher socioeconomic status was also associated with greater cognitive performance, but the effect was small, the researchers noted. Women tended to perform better than men in tests of memory and thinking speed. Another interesting finding was that the older adults who had detectible amounts of amyloid plaques in the brain (a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease), but no discernible signs of dementia, had slightly lower average scores than participants without amyloid plaques. Researchers are hopeful that the study and continued follow-up with the study participants will help scientists better understand age-related changes in thinking skills in the general population and be better able to anticipate what changes are likely and when they may occur.

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