Jim's Blog-11/08/11 Severe cognitive loss is not a normal part of aging
Created on 11/8/2011 3:59:00 PM
There's more evidence out that severe cognitive loss is not a normal part of aging. Cognition (awareness, perception, reasoning, and judgment) does decline on average in an aging population, but there is tremendous variation among individuals. The Religious Orders Study (of priests, nuns, and brothers) has been going on since 1982. Recent findings suggest that two-thirds of older participants in the study have minimal cognitive decline. One-fourth have moderate decline, and fewer than 10% were part of a 'fast decline' group. So when an older person shows losses, don't assume that it is because they are old. It "aint necessarily so."
