High prevalence of prospective memory impairment in the elderly and in early‐stage dementia: Findings from a population‐based study

Abstract

Remembering to carry out intended actions is important for the effective performance of daily activities, but generally declines with age. This study aimed to establish the prevalence of prospective memory impairment in the elderly population, describe the age function and identify risk factors for impairment. An event-based prospective memory test was administered to 11,956 participants aged 65 in the screening stage of a population-based study, the Medical Research Council Cognitive Function and Ageing Study (MRC CFAS). Only 54% of the sample succeeded on the task. Logistic regression analysis showed that successful performance was strongly and linearly related to age, and that male gender, less education and lower social status substantially increased the risk of prospective memory impairment. There was a very high prevalence of prospective memory impairment in 388 individuals with very mild dementia, of whom only 8% succeeded on the task. These ®ndings raise concerns about the well-being and safety of many older people.

Low macular pigment optical density is associated with lower cognitive performance in a large, population-based sample of older adults

“…Given that PM is vulnerable to early age--related decline and that PM tests are sensitive to early--stage dementia (Huppert et al, 2000;Van den Berg et al, 2012), the possibility that simple dietary measures could delay the onset, or ameliorate the natural course, of dementia cannot be ignored.…”

Age effects in prospective memory performance within older adults: the paradoxical impact of implementation intentions

“…Recently, some studies have qualified the notion of a general age deficit in prospective memory by showing that prospective memory further develops within older adults (Huppert et al 2000;Kliegel and Jäger 2006a;Kvavilashvili et al 2009;Mäntylä and Nilsson 1997;Rendell and Thomson 1999;Uttl et al 2001;Zeintl et al 2007;Zimmerman and Meier 2006). The rationale for this approach rests on the assumption that the group of older adults (60?)…”

An Internet study of prospective memory across adulthood.

“…For example, participants could be asked to perform a simple action in response to a particular cue (e.g., Dobbs & Rule, 1987;Huppert, Johnson, & Nickson, 2000), producing a single binary measure of success/failure that can only be a coarse estimate of PM ability.…”