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Slower Reaction Times Linked to Higher Death Risk
for Old People and Young
By Lise Millay Stevens,
Contributing Writer
Health Behavior News Service
Jan. 23, 2006 - Slower reaction times and poorer memory are
associated with a greater risk of dying in young and old people, a new
study shows.
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The finding in younger subjects is especially
surprising, given that prior research linking higher mortality with
poorer cognitive function in the elderly was attributed to degeneration
of the brain due to aging.
These results suggest that reaction time is not
merely an indicator of age-related physiological deteriorations but
rather an indicator of the brains more basic information processing
ability, suggesting that slower and more variable processing skills are
a risk factor for mortality in themselves, said authors led by Beverly
A. Shipley, Ph.D., of the University of Edinburgh in Scotland
In the study, published in the latest issue of the
journal Psychosomatic Medicine, researchers followed 6,424 subjects age
18 to 94 from the 1984-1985 UK Health and Lifestyle Survey to assess
their scores on cognitive tests and risk of death over 19 years.
Between July 1985 and May 2003, 1,366 of the
participants had died. Of these, 52 were age 20 to 29 years, 351 were
ages 40 to 59 years, and 963 were age 60 and older.
Lower scores on simple reaction time (pressing a
key after seeing a prompt), choice reaction time (pressing one of four
keys after seeing a prompt), variability of reaction time and, to a
lesser degree, memory performance were strongly associated with higher
mortality rates in the youngest and the oldest group, but not the middle
group.
The researchers factored in other lifestyle factors
associated for risk of death such as smoking, heavy alcohol use and
being overweight before making a final determination a the association
between cognitive results and mortality risk.
The reasons for the association are unclear, but
according to the authors, The cognition-mortality relationship may be
explained in part by the brains efficiency of information processing
and memory performance.
Other reasons for the results, the researchers say,
may be that reaction time is linked with overall body deterioration, and
in the youngest group, may be linked to brain functions associated with
survival.
For example, higher cognitive ability may be
linked to behaviors that are conducive to good health such as healthy
eating, a low alcohol intake and avoidance of smoking, according to the
authors.
Peter Muennig, M.D., of Columbia University, said
the study is of critical importance in public health. If cognition is a
major factor in determining human life expectancy, then education
interventions have the potential for great public health impact. He
said, So far, there is good evidence that years of schooling prolongs
life expectancy. This will make a strong contribution to this argument.
Information sources:
Psychosomatic Medicine is the official bimonthly
peer-reviewed journal of the American Psychosomatic Society. For
information about the journal, contact Victoria White at (352) 376-1611,
ext. 5300, or visit
www.psychosomaticmedicine.org
Shipley BA, et al. Cognition and all-cause
mortality across the entire adult age range: Health and Lifestyle
Survey. Psychosomatic Medicine 68(1), 2006.
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