The research, published in the British Medical Journal, involved
giving cognitive tests to 5,198 men and 2,192 women ages 45 to
70 three times over the course of a decade, reports the L.A.
Times. The tests evaluated memory, reasoning, vocabulary, and
visual and hearing comprehension. Declines were seen in all
areas except vocabulary, and as people got older, there was a
faster drop. Over the 10 years, men ages 45 to 49 experienced a
3.6 percent decline in mental reasoning. Those 65 to 70 saw a
9.6 percent drop. Women ages 45 to 49 had the same decline as
men — 3.6 percent — with a 7.4 percent decline by the time they
reached ages 65 to 70. Previous research had suggested that
cognitive decline didn’t set in until about age 60, but the
study’s authors noted that this point of view has not been
universally accepted. They wrote that if these declines are
happening sooner, as their study suggests, maintaining a healthy
lifestyle earlier in life is critical. “There is emerging
consensus that ‘what is good for our