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Brain consequences to extended working life
- Pankaj Sharma, Michael Johnson, Consultant Neurologist, London W6 8RF (9 December 2005)
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Pankaj Sharma, Consultant Neurologist Hammersmith Hospitals W6 8RF, Michael Johnson, Consultant Neurologist, London W6 8RF
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Open letter to the Editors of the London Times and the British Medical Journal Dear Sir, As populations across the Western world live longer financial experts are predicting a potential future pensions crisis. The recently published report by Lord Turner has proposed several possible solutions with one major tenet being to work longer. However, public debate surrounding the solutions proposed by Lord Turner has omitted to discuss the neurological consequences of such a proposal. The ability of the human brain to process and recall information declines with advancing age. Excluding medical conditions that can produce cognitive decline such as stroke and alcoholism and in the absence of dementia, 13% of 60 – 64 year olds will experience cognitive impairment solely as a result of their age, which increases to 24% among those aged 65 - 69. Almost all people have jobs that require cognitive processing. The success of a modern economy dependent on the cognitive capacity of its workforce may be at risk if the mental capacity of its workforce is compromised. More immediately, there are patently some jobs (e.g., medical, airline and other transport industry etc.) where lives could be at risk. The legal ramifications and responsibilities of such risk are best debated by others more expert in such matters. The cognitive consequences of a blanket extension of the working life to 69 have clearly not been thought through. Drs Pankaj Sharma and Dr Michael Johnson, Consultant Neurologists, London. Competing interests: None declared |
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