# *Challenge to GB Member Part II

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Posted by Why GB Isn't GB [Erie] on November 03, 1999 at 14:21:07 {eZOTANvCI6tHb/NyXTdAqoHxpYU4zY}:

In Reply to: Challenge to GB Member Part II posted by M733 on November 03, 1999 at 12:16:02:

GB writes too well to be GB? Or, does his "logic" betray why he is not GB?

Many of you have referred to “the old men on the governing body.” Perhaps the following article offers scientific support to your concerns and helps explain one reason why reform has not and will not happen as long as the old guard is in place in Brooklyn.

Wednesday November 3 12:55 PM ET
Over 75's mental decline steeper than expected
NEW YORK, Nov 03 (Reuters Health) -- A decline in mental function with age occurs in most people, and at a faster rate than previously thought in the ``oldest old'' -- those aged 75 and older, according to UK researchers.

Revised estimates from a study of people aged 75 and older reveal ``greater estimates of cognitive (intellectual) impairment,'' report a team of investigators led by Dr. Carol Brayne, of the Institute of Public Health in Cambridge, UK. They publish their findings in the November issue of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

Previous studies had suggested that mental function deteriorates only very slowly as people enter their 70s, 80s and beyond. However, Brayne's group points out that these studies usually failed to account for the high number of study 'dropouts' -- subjects who, because of death, illness, or change of address were lost to later follow-up.

In their own study of over 2,100 elderly subjects, dropout rates exceeded 80%, so that by the end of 9 years of research just 368 subjects remained available to the researchers.

The investigators used standard Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) testing to assess the intellectual health of all participants, each of whom was 75 years of age or older at the beginning of the study. MMSE scores of 23 or below indicate significant mental decline.

When the researchers did not account for study dropouts, scores ranged between 23.5 and 26.6. However, when dropouts were included in the calculations, scores fell to between 17.3 and 21.7.

These findings appear to challenge more optimistic views on aging. Brayne and colleagues conclude that ``although we would prefer that aging not necessarily be accompanied by cognitive decline, these data suggest that for the vast majority of (elderly) populations, it is.''

SOURCE: Journal of the American Geriatrics Society 1999;47:1283-1288.

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