Physical and cognitive function have improved meaningfully in 30 years


Date:
September 21, 2020
Source:
University of Jyva"skyla" - Jyva"skyla"n yliopisto
Summary:
The functional ability of older people is nowadays better when it
is compared to that of people at the same age three decades ago.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
The functional ability of older people is nowadays better when it is
compared to that of people at the same age three decades ago. This
was observed in a study conducted at the Faculty of Sport and Health
Sciences at the University of Jyva"skyla", Finland. The study compared
the physical and cognitive performance of people nowadays between the
ages of 75 and 80 with that of the same-aged people in the 1990s.


========================================================================== "Performance-based measurements describe how older people manage in
their daily life, and at the same time, the measurements reflect one's functional age," says the principal investigator of the study, Professor
Taina Rantanen.

Among men and women between the ages of 75 and 80, muscle strength,
walking speed, reaction speed, verbal fluency, reasoning and working
memory are nowadays significantly better than they were in people at
the same age born earlier. In lung function tests, however, differences
between cohorts were not observed.

"Higher physical activity and increased body size explained the better
walking speed and muscle strength among the later-born cohort," says
doctoral student Kaisa Koivunen, "whereas the most important underlying
factor behind the cohort differences in cognitive performance was
longer education." Postdoctoral researcher Matti Munukka continues:
"The cohort of 75- and 80- year-olds born later has grown up and lived
in a different world than did their counterparts born three decades
ago. There have been many favourable changes.

These include better nutrition and hygiene, improvements in health care
and the school system, better accessibility to education and improved
working life." The results suggest that increased life expectancy is accompanied by an increased number of years lived with good functional
ability in later life. The observation can be explained by slower rate-of-change with increasing age, a higher lifetime maximum in physical performance, or a combination of the two.

"This research is unique because there are only a few studies in the
world that have compared performance-based maximum measures between
people of the same age in different historical times," says Rantanen.

"The results suggest that our understanding of older age is
old-fashioned. From an aging researcher's point of view, more years are
added to midlife, and not so much to the utmost end of life. Increased
life expectancy provides us with more non-disabled years, but at the same
time, the last years of life comes at higher and higher ages, increasing
the need for care. Among the ageing population, two simultaneous changes
are happening: continuation of healthy years to higher ages and an
increased number of very old people who need external care."

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_Jyva"skyla"_-_Jyva"skyla"n_yliopisto. Note: Content may
be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal References:
1. Kaisa Koivunen, Elina Sillanpa"a", Matti Munukka, Erja Portegijs,
Taina
Rantanen. Cohort differences in maximal physical performance:
a comparison of 75- and 80-year-old men and women born 28
years apart. The Journals of Gerontology: Series A, 2020; DOI:
10.1093/gerona/glaa224
2. Matti Munukka, Kaisa Koivunen, Mikaela B. von Bonsdorff, Sarianna
Sipila", Erja Portegijs, Isto Ruoppila, Taina Rantanen. Birth cohort
differences in cognitive performance in 75- and 80-year-olds:
a comparison of two cohorts over 28 years. Aging Clinical and
Experimental Research, 2020; DOI: 10.1007/s40520-020-01702-0 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/09/200921115600.htm

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