And this may be the only reason some individuals experience cognitive recovery while others do not.

Positive beliefs about aging can increase memory recovery in older adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), according to a new study by the Yale School of Public Health.

The research found that seniors who embraced positive cultural attitudes toward aging were 30% more likely to regain normal cognitive function compared to those with negative beliefs.

The study also discovered that individuals with positive age beliefs experienced cognitive recovery up to two years sooner than those with negative beliefs, irrespective of their MCI severity.

According to Becca Levy, professor of public health and psychology and the lead author of the study, the findings are groundbreaking as little is known about what contributes to cognitive recovery in individuals with MCI.

“That’s why we looked at positive age beliefs, to see if they would help provide an answer.”

Becca Levy’s earlier experimental studies with older adults found that positive age beliefs could decrease stress caused by cognitive challenges, boost self-confidence about cognitive abilities, and enhance cognitive performance. Based on these findings, Levy predicted that positive age beliefs could play a crucial role in cognitive recovery.

The new study, co-authored by biostatistician and lecturer in internal medicine at Yale, Martin Slade, is the first to provide evidence that culture-based factors such as positive age beliefs contribute to cognitive recovery in individuals with MCI.

The study was published in JAMA Network Open.

Furthermore, the study found that older adults who held positive age beliefs and had normal cognition at the beginning of the study were less likely to develop MCI over the following 12 years compared to those with negative age beliefs, regardless of their age and physical health.

The Health and Retirement Study, a national longitudinal study, provided a sample of 1,716 participants aged 65 and above.

The National Institute on Aging funded the research.

“Our previous research has demonstrated that age beliefs can be modified; therefore, age-belief interventions at the individual and societal levels could increase the number of people who experience cognitive recovery,” Levy added.

Source: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.7707

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