Abstract
We compared neuropsychological functioning and prevalence of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in two birth cohorts born 20 years apart when participants had reached the same age, i.e., the mid-60s. The study followed up 500 volunteers born 1930–1932 (C30) and 502 born 1950–1952 (C50). Participants underwent medical, neuropsychological, and psychiatric examinations in 1993–1996 (T1), 1997–2000 (T2), 2005–2008 (T3), and 2014–2016 (T4), including assessment of abstract thinking, memory performance, verbal fluency, visuo-spatial thinking, psychomotor speed, and attention. Healthy participants from C30 at T2 (n = 298) and from C50 at T4 (n = 205) were compared using multivariate ANCOVAs. Groups slightly differed with respect to age (C50: 63.86 ± 1.14 vs. C30: 66.80 ± 0.91; p < 0.05) and years of education (13.28 ± 2.89 vs. 14.56 ± 2.45). After correcting for age, C50 significantly outperformed C30 in all domains except concentration and verbal fluency. After additionally adjusting for education, C50 significantly outperformed C30 in declarative memory performances and abstract thinking only. Prevalence rates of MCI were 25.2% in C30 and 9.6% in C50 (p < 0.001). Our findings confirm the association between better educational attainment and enhanced cognitive performance in “younger” old individuals. While this association corresponds to the Flynn effect, various life course influences may have also contributed to better performance, including improvements in healthcare provision, medication, and lifestyle factors. Their overall effects may foster cognitive reserve and thus translate into the decline in MCI prevalence reported here.
Highlights
Projections of cognitive functioning in ageing are essential for adequate organization of future healthcare provision, including the adaptation of primary and secondary preventive measures
According to one of the earliest models, intelligence can be separated into two overlapping albeit distinct categories: fluid intelligence refers to the capacity to solve problems for which previous experience and acquired knowledge is not important, while crystallized intelligence is cording to the results of a metanalysis based on 271 independent samples from 31 countries [2], the Flynn effect varies according to domain and primarily involve fluid followed by spatial, full-scale, and crystallized IQ test performance
After correcting for age and education, we found that a significant main affect arose for declarative memory (“Word List (WL) recall” and “WL delayed recognition”) and abstract thinking (“Mosaic Test (MT)”)
Summary
Projections of cognitive functioning in ageing are essential for adequate organization of future healthcare provision, including the adaptation of primary and secondary preventive measures. In this respect, an increase in life expectancy may or may not go hand in hand with an increase in functional limitations and disability, including a rise in dementia prevalence. Previous comparisons demonstrated massive IQ gains over time [1]. This finding is generally referred to as the Flynn effect and was confirmed in a wealth of studies [2]. According to one of the earliest models, intelligence can be separated into two overlapping albeit distinct categories: fluid intelligence refers to the capacity to solve problems for which previous experience and acquired knowledge is not important, while crystallized intelligence is cording to the results of a metanalysis based on 271 independent samples from 31 countries [2], the Flynn effect varies according to domain and primarily involve fluid followed by spatial, full-scale (fluid and crystallized IQ), and crystallized IQ test performance
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