How thinking young could beat dementia
自认年轻能防治老年痴呆
PUBLISHED: 00:22 GMT, 12 June 2012 |
UPDATED: 00:23 GMT, 12 June 2012
You're as young as you feel – and feeling younger could stop you being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, researchers claim.
A study has found older people who think they are over the hill had worse scores in memory tests.
They were five times more likely to end up with a diagnosis of dementia, simply because of their attitude towards ageing.
In contrast, people of a similar age who felt younger got better scores.
The findings from researchers at the University of Exeter suggest attitudes towards ageing could have a huge impact on dementia diagnosis.
The study will be presented today at the International Conference on Social Identity and Health at the university.
It involved 68 people, aged between 60 and 70 years, who were primed to either feel older or younger than other test participants.
Those in the ‘older’ group were told participants ranged from 40 to 70 years, encouraging them to think of themselves as being at the upper end of the age spectrum.
Those in the ‘younger’ group were told the ages of participants ranged from 60 to 90 years, which encouraged them to think of themselves as younger than everyone else.
All participants were then given one of two articles to read, which either focused on the effects of age on memory or the impact of ageing on general brain functioning.
The participants then completed a series of standard clinical tests, including a well established dementia screening test that is used in many GP surgeries and NHS memory clinics to assist diagnosis.
The startling findings showed 70 per cent of people who were encouraged to see themselves as older and to believe that ageing was associated with a general decline in ability met the criterion for dementia.
In comparison, just 14 per cent of those primed to see themselves as being ‘younger’ fitted the diagnosis.
Lead author, Dr Catherine Haslam, said people who see themselves as ‘older’ could be labelled as having dementia as a result of their attitude.
She said: ‘Our research shows that the effect of age perceptions on performance can be dramatic, and that seeing oneself as “older” significantly increases a person’s risk of being diagnosed with dementia on such tests.
一份调查发现那些自认为正在衰退中的老年人在记忆力测试中得到的分数更低。
报告显示，自我感觉像年轻人一样或感到比实际上年轻能防止你患上老年痴呆症。
一份调查发现那些自认为正在衰退中的老年人在记忆测试中得到的分数更低。
他们可以会因为对变老的态度不同而有5倍的概率患上老年痴呆症。
不同的是，相同年纪而感到年轻的那些人在记忆力测试中得到的分数高些。
这份来自埃克塞特大学学者的调查显示出了对变老的态度对老年痴呆症有巨大的影响。
这份报告将今天在大学举行的社会认同和健康关系的国际会议上发布。
调查总共包括68人，都是60-70岁的老人，他们比其他测试的参与者更容易自我感到年老或年轻。
这些在“更老”的团队中的测试者们被告诉测试者的年龄范围是从40到70岁，来鼓励他们把他们自我认知年龄的范围放大。
而在“年轻些”团队中的测试者们呗告知他们的年龄范围是从60-90岁，这样鼓励他们感到自己比其他人年轻。
所有的参与人而后被要求读2篇文章，文章或者是关于年龄对记忆力的影响，或者是年龄对大脑功能的影响。然后参与者完成一系列的标准临床诊断，包括一份公认的痴呆筛选试验，这个试验在许多普通外科手术中还有英国国民健康保险制度的记忆诊断中辅助诊断。
步速中的提示
一份调查显示，步速突然降低的老年人可能出在老年痴呆早期
美国科学家发现步速的改变可能是轻度认知功能障碍的信号，而轻度认知功能障碍能发展能老年痴呆。
调查中，监测步速的传感器呗安装在93个70岁及以上老人的家中。54个被测者没有障碍另外39个有功能障碍，影响到了记忆力，语言和注意广度。
有轻度认知功能障碍，影响了语言和注意力的人九成是步速慢的人，步速波动的数值也与MCI有关联。
研究人士称这个调查结果可以使老年痴呆被尽早发现
一份令人吃惊的发现显示70%的，自认为更老的人符合老年痴呆的标准，他们相信变老与自己能力的下降有联系。
对比的，只有14%的，自认为更年轻的人符合诊断标准
首席作者，Dr Catherine Haslam说认为自己老的人会因为他们的态度而患上老年痴呆。
她说：“我们的调查显示：在实验中，年龄认知在表现上的影响是戏剧性的，那些自认为老的显著增加了患上老年痴呆的风险。
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