Jul 14 2005
Happiness in old age is not linked to intelligence over a lifetime, say researchers in this week's BMJ.
Their study involved 550 healthy people who were born in Scotland in 1921, and who were tested for cognitive (mental) ability at 11 and again at about 80 years old.
Test scores were converted to IQs and adjusted for age. Participants also completed a satisfaction with life scale at age 80.
Satisfaction with life in old age was unrelated to cognitive ability and to cognitive change throughout life. This could be due to the fact that, among healthy people, higher ability is equally likely to lead to positive as well as negative outcomes, explain the authors.
They suggest that, in promoting successful ageing, it is necessary to know not only what protects cognition but also what predicts happiness.
Professor Ian Deary said: "?If you are 80 and healthy, then your satisfaction with how your life has turned out bears no relation to how you scored on an IQ test recently or 70 years ago."
Contact:
Katrina Nevin-Ridley, Press & PR Manager, University of Edinburgh, Scotland
Tel: +44 (0)131 650 9836
Email: [email protected]
Click here to view full paper