US seniors bash Brits in memory test

[Yoink 7]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090626/od_af...csmemoryoffbeat

PARIS (AFP) – American seniors 'remember when' long after their British counterparts have forgotten what day of the week it is, researchers report in a study released this week.

The trans-Atlantic gap, as measured in a "memory and awareness test," amounted to a decade of aging, according to the survey of 8,299 Americans and 5,276 Britons over 65.

75-year-olds in the US, in other words, scored far better than their sun-starved age peers, and equalled the performance of Brits 10 years younger, according to the study, published in London-based journal BMC Geriatrics.

The tests measured instant and delayed recall of a series of ten common nouns such as "tree", "village," "baby," etc. Participants were also asked what day, date, month and year it was.

On a 24-point scale, US subjects scored 12.8 on average, compared to 11.4 for the English.

"The better cognitive performance of US adults was actually quite surprising," said Kenneth Langa, a researcher at the University of Michigan and the study's lead author.

"US adults have a higher prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors, which are generally associated with cognitive decline and poorer mental function."

Such risk factors include smoking tobacco, obesity, physical inactivity and high blood pressure.

Britain has the highest rate of obesity in Europe, but Americans tip the scales even more.

Langa speculated that higher education and income levels in the United States may have compensated, resulting in sharper minds going into old age.

He also noted that American adults report significantly lower levels of depression than their British counterparts, a factor than can also affect cognitive skills.

[Trompe le Monde 1,107]

American seniors probably haven't had as many pints over the years as their British cousins

[Peikko 1,575]

I laugh at his findings - higher education levels my fanny!

We have no information on any of the other factors of the participants other than that so many thousand were British and so many thousand from the USA. Where did the samples come from in socio-economic terms? Does he even know?

What about climate, geography, access to facilities? Seriously if one is to make such assertions at least show us the 'like for like' data, otherwise it's meaningless garbage.

[mawilson 2,133]

We have no information on any of the other factors of the participants other than that so many thousand were British and so many thousand from the USA. Where did the samples come from in socio-economic terms? Does he even know?

The American "samples" came from Britain a couple of centuries ago.

[Peikko 1,575]

What is funny, it seems it was conducted by some kind of survey methodology basis. While in the US 87% of those contacted participated, in the UK only 65% did. My finding is that the phones were consistently answered by 'Richard Wilson' types hanging up on the questioners

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

I don't.... BELIEVE IT!!!!