BMJ  2004;328 (6 March), doi:10.1136/bmj.328.7439.0-b

High IQ in childhood may protect from cognitive decline

Good cognitive ability in childhood may protect against cognitive decline in mid-life. Using data from the British 1946 birth cohort, Richards and colleagues (p 552) analysed 3035 people who had various cognitive tests at age 15, 43, and 53. They found that measured ability in childhood was inversely associated with rate of decline in memory, speed, and concentration in mid-life, independent of social and health status. Ability in adulthood was similarly associated with decline in mid-life, independent of childhood ability. Cognitive ability may reflect properties of the central nervous system which regulate the decline associated with age, the authors say, particularly in tasks requiring effort and concentration.

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Cognitive ability in childhood and cognitive decline in mid-life: longitudinal birth cohort study

Marcus Richards, Beverly Shipley, Rebecca Fuhrer, and Michael E J Wadsworth
BMJ 2004 328: 552. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

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