Cognition begins to fade as early as 45

PARIS, Jan. 6 (UPI) -- Previous research suggests cognitive decline doesn't begin before age 60, but British and French researchers say it may begin as young as age 45.

Study leader Archana Singh-Manoux of the Center for Research in Epidemiology and Population Health in France and University College London in England observed 5,198 men and 2,192 women over a 10-year period beginning in 1997.

The study participants -- all civil servants in England ages 45-70 who were part of the Whitehall II cohort study established in 1985 -- were assessed for memory, vocabulary, and aural and visual comprehension skills. The latter include recalling in writing as many words beginning with "s" for phonemic fluency and as many animal names (semantic fluency) -- three times over the study period.

The study, published in the British Medical Journal, showed cognitive scores declined in all categories -- memory, reasoning, phonemic and semantic fluency -- except vocabulary. There was faster decline in older people, the study said.

The decline in mental reasoning in men and women ages 45-49 was 3.6 percent, but in men ages 65-70 the decline in mental reasoning in men was 9.6 percent and 7.4 percent in women ages 65-70.

Since "what is good for our hearts is also good for our heads," the researchers conclude for patients who suffer from one or more risk factors for heart disease -- obesity, high blood pressure and high cholesterol levels -- protecting the heart will also protect the brain from dementia.