A Yale University study has found that nearly half of adults age 65 and older showed measurable improvements in cognitive function, physical function, or both over a period of up to 12 years. The research draws on data from more than 11,000 participants and links positive age beliefs to these gains. It challenges the view that aging always involves decline.
Researchers analyzed data from the Health and Retirement Study, a long-term survey funded by the federal government. They tracked changes using cognitive assessments and walking speed tests. During the follow-up period, 45 percent of participants improved in at least one area, with 32 percent gaining cognitively and 28 percent improving physically.
Becca R. Levy, the lead author and a professor at the Yale School of Public Health, said many people equate aging with continuous loss of abilities. She noted that improvement is common when individual trajectories are examined rather than averages. The study was published in the journal Geriatrics.
Participants with more positive beliefs about aging at the start were significantly more likely to improve, even after adjustments for age, education, and health factors. The findings were supported by funding from the National Institute on Aging. Co-author Martin Slade also contributed to the work.
