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Ageing and Dementia in a Longitudinal Study of a Cohort with D own S yndrome
Author(s) -
Carr Janet,
Collins Suzanne
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
journal of applied research in intellectual disabilities
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.056
H-Index - 63
eISSN - 1468-3148
pISSN - 1360-2322
DOI - 10.1111/jar.12093
Subject(s) - dementia , cohort , psychology , ageing , population , cognitive skill , cognition , gerontology , test (biology) , intelligence quotient , cognitive test , cohort study , longitudinal study , cognitive decline , developmental psychology , medicine , psychiatry , disease , paleontology , environmental health , pathology , biology
Background A population sample of people with D own syndrome has been studied from infancy and has now been followed up again at age 47 years. Methods Intelligence and language skills were tested and daily living skills assessed. Memory/cognitive deterioration was examined using two test instruments. Results Scores on verbal tests of intelligence changed little. Those on a non‐verbal test, on self‐help skills and on both memory tests showed some decline, even when the scores of those already suffering from dementia were discounted. Conclusions At age 47, scores on most tests of even the majority of the cohort (i.e. those not definitely diagnosed with dementia) showed some decline. While this includes the scores of people who may subsequently develop dementia, it may also reflect the normal ageing process in this population.