Dear McCain voters...
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Dookie The Webmaster
6:31 AM
One-Third of Seniors Have Mental Decline
More than 5 million elderly people have a hard time remembering things, sorting through daily decisions and even sometimes knowing what day it is, according to the first national estimate of how commonly the minds of aging Americans are starting to fade.
Using detailed evaluations of a nationally representative sample of 856 people ages 71 and older, the federally sponsored study concluded that 22 percent have begun to see their mental faculties decline, which translates into 5.4 million people.
Combined with a previous estimate that 3.4 million Americans have full dementia, such as Alzheimer's disease, the new findings mean that more than one-third of people age 71 and older have some diminished mental function, the researchers said. About 25 million people in this age group live in the United States.
"This is important because the number of people with cognitive impairment is likely to increase significantly as the baby boomers age," Plassman said, noting that the new research found that 12 percent of those with mild problems go on to develop dementia, and about 8 percent die each year.
Walnuts
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