Yale study finds nearly half of older adults get sharper over time
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Aging is often portrayed as a steady decline, but new research shows that many older adults actually improve over time.
Using more than a decade of data from a large, representative study of older Americans, Yale University researchers found that nearly half of adults age 65 and older showed improvements in cognitive function, physical function, or both.
The improvements were consistent across the study population and were linked to participants’ mindsets about aging, according to a press release.
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“Contrary to the prevailing belief or stereotype that age is a period of constant and inevitable decline, we found evidence that a significant number of older people actually show improvements in cognitive and/or physical health within 12 years,” lead author Becca Levy, a professor of social and behavioral sciences at Yale, told Fox News Digital.
The study, published in the journal Geriatrics, was based on data from the Health and Retirement Study, a federally supported, long-running study of older Americans.
The results were consistent across the study population, rather than being limited to a small group of high performers. (iStock)
Researchers tracked changes in cognition using global performance tests and measured physical function based on walking speed, which is considered a “vital sign” due to its strong links to disability, hospitalization and death.
Over a 12-year period, 45% of participants recovered mentally or physically. About 32% showed cognitive gains, while 28% improved physically, according to the study.
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“If you average everyone out, you’ll see a decline,” Levy said. “But when you look at individual trajectories, you reveal a very different story. A significant percentage of older participants … got better.”
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One participant’s beliefs about aging appeared to influence the results; Those with more positive age beliefs were significantly more likely to show improvements in both cognition and walking speed.
Researchers found that over a 12-year period, 45% of participants improved mentally or physically. (iStock)
This remained true even when factors such as age, gender, education, chronic disease, depression and follow-up time were taken into account. Improvements were seen not only among those recovering from injury or illness, but even among participants who started with “normal” levels of function.
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“Individuals with more positive age beliefs tend to have lower stress response and lower stress biomarkers,” Levy said. He noted that because age beliefs are modifiable, there may be a capacity for improvements later in life.
The researchers acknowledged that the study had some limitations. He didn’t look at how muscles or brain cells change and adapt; This may help explain why humans evolved.
“Individuals with more positive age beliefs tend to have lower stress response and lower stress biomarkers,” the researcher said. (iStock)
They added that future studies should examine recovery patterns for other types of cognition, such as spatial memory.
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“Additionally, although our participants were selected from a nationally representative sample, it would be useful to examine patterns of recovery in additional groups with greater representation of different ethnic minority groups,” researchers noted in the study.
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The authors said they hope the findings will debunk the myth that continued physical and cognitive decline is inevitable.
“We found evidence that there may be psychological pathways, behavioral pathways, and physiological pathways [by which age beliefs impact health]” said Levy. “This is common and should be included in our understanding of the aging process.”
