title: Cognitive functioning in healthy older adults aged 64-81: a cohort study into the effects of age, sex, and education.
abstract: The objective of this study was to determine a possible differential effect of age, education, and sex on cognitive speed, verbal memory, executive functioning, and verbal fluency in healthy older adults. A group of 578 healthy participants in the age range of 64-81 was recruited from a large population study of healthy adults (Maastricht Aging Study). Even in healthy individuals in this restricted age range, there is a clear, age-related decrease in performance on executive functioning, verbal fluency, verbal memory, and cognitive speed tasks. The capacity to inhibit information is affected most. Education had a substantial effect on cognitive functioning: participants with a middle or high level of education performed better on cognitive tests than did participants with a low level of education. Women performed better than men on verbal memory tasks. Therefore, education and sex must be taken into account when examining an older individual's cognitive performance.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Neuropsychology, Maastricht University, The Netherlands. s.vanhooren@np.unimaas.nl
authors.forename: S A H
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: van Hooren
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Valentijn
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Bosma
authors.forename: R W H M
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Ponds
authors.forename: M P J
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: van Boxtel
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jolles
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D012727:Sex Characteristics