A recent study has shown that cognitive function may start to weaken already at the age of 45. This process was previously believed to begin when a person was in their sixties.
The memory, reasoning, vocabulary and linguistic fluency of seven thousand 45–70 year-old British civil servants were tested three times over ten years. The scores in all these areas declined, except for vocabulary. The decline was more rapid among the older participants, but was also seen among the younger subjects. On average, the reasoning skills of 45–49 year-old women and men both declined by 3.6%, and that of 65–70 year old women and men by 7.4% and 9.6%, respectively.
From a work life perspective, this decline in cognitive function can, however, be combated by the competence a worker acquires through his/her years of experience.
Source:
Singh-Manoux A, Kivimäki M, Glymour M, Elbaz A, Berr C, Ebmeier K, Ferrie J, Dugravot A. Timing of onset of cognitive decline: results from Whitehall II prospective cohort study. BMJ 2011;343:d7622 doi: 10.1136/bmj.d7622
Modified 13.01.2012 Vauhkonen Tuula