Mild cognitive decline is tied to early death in elderly people, a new research by Mayo Clinic reveals.
Researchers studied 2,154 Minnesota adults aged between 70 and 89. They were tracked for six years. The authors noted that 862 adults suffered from memory or thinking complications and 1,292 did not have any cognitive function decline.
The scientists measured the cognitive functions of the participants through tests that were administered at the start of the study and then at every 15 months. Researchers stated that 38 percent of the people suffering from the mild cognitive decline group and 17 percent without any mental decline died during the study time frame.
The study results showed that those with mild cognitive decline had 80 percent chances of early death compared to those without any memory problems. Furthermore, elderly people who developed language problems, attention and decision-making abilities but had no memory loss were two times as likely to die in comparison to people who did not have any mental decline. Seniors who only had memory loss were 68 percent more likely to die than people with their mental health intact.
"I assume that there is an underlying disease process that is going to manifest earlier as brain dysfunction and later on lead to death," said Dr Marc Gordon, chief of neurology at Zucker Hillside Hospital, in Glen Oaks, NY, reports HealthDay. "Perhaps there may be other things going on that affect the brain and that also affect mortality, whether or not you develop dementia."
The Mayo Clinic study was presented at the American Academy of Neurology meeting in Philadelphia, PA.
