Those who think positively about aging more likely to regain memory, study says

April 12 (UPI) -- People with mild cognitive impairment who think positively about aging are more likely to recover memory than those who think negatively, according to a new study produced by the Yale School of Public Health.

The research, which drew from the national Health and Retirement Study, is detailed in an article published Wednesday in the peer-reviewed JAMA Open Network.

The study is the first to find evidence that the culture-based factor of positive age beliefs contributes to mild cognitive impairment recovery. The coauthors reviewed results from 1,716 participants aged 65 and above from the national longitudinal study.

"Most people assume there is no recovery from MCI, but in fact half of those who have it do recover," said Becca Levy, professor of public health at Yale University and the study's lead author.

"Little is known about why some recover while others don't. That's why we looked positive age beliefs, to see if they would help provide an answer."

Levy and fellow researchers said they found in the study that older persons in the positive age-belief group who started the exam with normal cognition were less likely to develop mild cognitive impairment over the next 12 years than those in the negative age-belief group, regardless of their baseline age and physical health.

The authors had forecast that positive age beliefs could play an important role in cognitive recovery because previous experimental studies with older persons found that positive age beliefs reduced the stress caused by cognitive challenges, increased self-confidence about cognition and improved cognitive performance.

"Our previous research has demonstrated that age beliefs can be modified; therefore, age-belief interventions at the individual and societal levels could increase the number of people who experience cognitive recovery," Levy said.

According to the Alzheimer Society of Canada, almost 40% of people will experience some form of normal memory loss after they turn 65 years old, but often still mind enough to live our day-to-day lives without interruption.