Study Tracks Mental Decline Before Death

Some mental abilities decline in older adults before death, even if they don’t develop dementia, a study suggests. The study kept track of 288 people from age 70 until they died. They received many tests of brain function. On average, people were less able to compare figures beginning 15 years before death. Perception of space and distance declined starting eight years before death. Problems using words began an average of six years before death. No one in the study developed dementia. The average age of death was 84. HealthDay news wrote about the study August 27. It was in the journal Neurology.