Early Retirement Can Accelerate Cognitive Decline Among Seniors

A study in the IZA Institute of Labor Economics suggests early retirement can speed up cognitive decline among seniors, reports News-Medical . The researchers looked at China's New Rural Pension Scheme (NRPS) and the Chinese Health and Retirement Longitudinal Survey (CHARLS) to assess how pension benefits impacted individual cognition of persons 60 or older. CHARLS tests cognition by concentrating on episodic memory and other elements of intact mental status. NRPS was launched to relieve poverty in old age, especially in rural China. However, the team identified significant adverse effects, most notably delayed recall, a measure often cited in neurobiological research as a key predictor of dementia. The pension program had more negative effects among women, and the researchers said these findings support the theory that decreased mental activity exacerbates cognitive skills. "Over the almost 10 years since its implementation, the program led to a decline in cognitive performance by as high as almost a fifth of a standard deviation on the memory measures we examine," said Binghamton University, State University of New York Professor Plamen Nikolov. He expressed hope that this work will inform new policies to improve cognitive functioning of older generations during retirement.