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Social
Ties May Delay Your Memory Loss
 Social
ties with family and friends may delay the decline in your memory.
These are the conclusions reached by a new research study conducted by
Dr. Lisa F. Berkman from the Department of Society, Human Development,
and Health at the Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, and her
colleagues in a recent report in the American Journal of Public
Health.Dr. Berkman stated
"Our results suggest that increasing social integration may be an
important component of efforts to protect older Americans from memory
decline." This study looked at the impact of social integration on
changes in memory over six years among 16,638 Americans aged 50 and
older who were enrolled in the Health and Retirement study. Research
looked at two different aspects of memory including immediate and
delayed recall of a list of 10 words, while social integration was
then assessed according to marital status, volunteer activity, and
frequency of contact with children, parents and neighbors.
Researchers found
that the average memory score declined from 11.0 in 1998 to 10.0 in
2004. Study participants who were found to be either high in social
integration or low in social integration were found to have similar
memory scores in 1998. These scores then changed over the next six
years. It was found that people who were defined as being high in
social integration in 1998 actually suffered lower rates of memory
decline over this six year period of time then their peers who were
found to be lower in sociability. Participants who were defined as
being among the least sociable, were found to decline at twice the
rate as those who were found to be more socially integrated.
Dr. Berkman and
her colleagues went on to say that "Being in the highest level of
social integration ameliorated more than half of the age-related
decline in memory." These findings are totally consistent with
previous research which has found that being socially engaged is
associated with lower rates of decline and to be at a lower risk of
dementia.
Adapted from the
Reuters article Social Ties Delay Memory Loss In The Aged (May 29,
2008)
Source: American
Journal of Public Health, online May 29, 2008
Additional Information and
webpage by Paul Susic MA Licensed
Psychologist Ph.D. Candidate
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