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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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Life-long intellectual activities mediate the predictive effect of early education on cognitive impairment in centenarians
— a retrospective study | | Author(s) | M Kliegel, D Zimprich, C Rott |
| Journal title | Aging & Mental Health, vol 8, no 5, September 2004 |
| Pages | pp 430-437 |
| Source | http://www.tandfonline.com |
| Keywords | Mental health [elderly] ; Educational status [elderly] ; Centenarians ; Longevity ; Germany. |
| Annotation | 90 centenarians from the population-based Heidelberg Centenarian Study were assessed with a modified version of the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE). The purpose of this study was to examine the hypothesis of whether early education and/or maintaining intellectual activities over the life course have the power to protect against cognitive impairment even in extremely old people. Data about education, occupational status, and life-long intellectual activities in four selected domains were obtained. Results demonstrated that 52% of the sample showed mild-to-moderate cognitive impairment. There was also independent, significant and strong influence of both formal school education and intellectual activities on cognitive status in very late life, even after controlling for occupational status. However, about a quarter of the effect of early education on cognitive status was exerted indirectly via the assessed intellectual activities. In summary, this study provides first evidence for the conclusion that even with regard to cognitive performance in very old age, both early education and life-long intellectual activities seem to be of importance. (RH). |
| Accession Number | CPA-041130248 A |
| Classmark | D: F:V: BBT: BGA: 767 |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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