Intended for healthcare professionals

Papers

Cognitive ability in childhood and cognitive decline in mid-life: longitudinal birth cohort study

BMJ 2004; 328 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.37972.513819.EE (Published 04 March 2004) Cite this as: BMJ 2004;328:552
  1. Marcus Richards, MRC scientist (m.richards{at}ucl.ac.uk)1,
  2. Beverly Shipley, MRC research student2,
  3. Rebecca Fuhrer, professor3,
  4. Michael E J Wadsworth, professor1
  1. 1 MRC National Survey of Health and Development, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London, London WC1E 6BT
  2. 2 Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London
  3. 3Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Occupational Health, McGill University Faculty of Medicine, 1020 Pine Avenue West Montreal QC, Canada H3A 1A2
  1. Correspondence to: M Richards
  • Accepted 27 November 2003

Abstract

Objective To examine the association between cognitive ability in childhood and mid-life cognitive decline in the normal population.

Design Longitudinal, population based, birth cohort study.

Participants 2058 men and women born in 1946.

Main study measures Ability in childhood measured by AH4 and test of verbal comprehension at age 15 years. Ability in adulthood measured by the national adult reading test (NART) at age 53 years. Outcome measures were decline in memory (word list learning) and speed and concentration (timed visual search) from age 43 to 53 years.

Results Ability in childhood was significantly and negatively associated with decline in memory (β = 0.09, P = 0.005, for men; 0.10, P < 0.001, for women) and search speed (β = 0.13, P < 0.001, for men; 0.08, P = 0.01, for women), independent of educational attainment, occupational social class, and a range of health indicators. The adult reading test was also significantly and negatively associated with decline in these outcomes (for memory β = 0.21, P < 0.001, for men; 0.17, P < 0.001, for women; and for search speed β= −0.05 for men; 0.10, P = 0.008 for women) independent of educational attainment, social class, and childhood ability.

Conclusions Ability in childhood can protect against cognitive decline in mid-life and beyond. Results for the adult reading test indicate that the protective effect of ability may also be acquired in adulthood.

Footnotes

  • Contributors MR conceived and designed the study, conducted the analyses, drafted and revised the paper, and is guarantor. All contributors discussed the design of the analyses and the core issues of the study and helped to revise the paper.

  • Funding The Medical Research Council provided funding for the MRC National Survey of Health and Development, and financial support for MR, BS, and MEJW. McGill University financially supported RF

  • Competing interests None declared

  • Ethical approval North Thames Multicentre Research Ethics Committee.

  • Accepted 27 November 2003
View Full Text