“Delaying retirement can delay dementia, large study finds”
NBC NEWS/AP
By Marilynn Marchione, The Associated Press
Alex Brandon / AP
June Springer, who just turned 90, at Caffi Contracting Services where she works in Alexandria, Va.
New research boosts the “use it or lose it” theory about brainpower and staying mentally sharp. People who delay retirement have less risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease or other types of dementia, a study of nearly half a million people in France found.
It’s by far the largest study to look at this, and researchers say the conclusion makes sense. Working tends to keep people physically active, socially connected and mentally challenged — all things known to help prevent mental decline.
“For each additional year of work, the risk of getting dementia is reduced by 3.2 percent,” said Carole Dufouil, a scientist at INSERM, the French government‘s health research agency.
She led the study and gave results Monday at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in Boston.
About 35 million people worldwide have dementia, and Alzheimer’s is the most common type. In the U.S., about 5 million have Alzheimer’s — 1 in 9 people aged 65 and over. What causes the mind-robbing disease isn’t known and there is no cure or any treatments that slow its progression.
SCANDAL? ASPARAGUS-GATE?
THE COLBERT REPORT
Asparagusgate
The House Judiciary Committee grills Attorney General Eric Holder, and Louie Gohmert accuses Holder of casting aspersions on his asparagus. (03:22)
WOULD YOU GIVE UP SOME LIBERTIES TO FIGHT TERRORISM?
A new CNN/Time/ORC International Poll indicates four in 10 Americans say they are willing to give up some civil liberties to fight terrorism, and suggests worries about terrorism have edged up after the Boston Marathon bombings.
The national survey shows that concerns about terrorism are up slightly, with 40% saying they worry that someone in their family will become a victim of terrorism, up 6 percentage points from a 2011 CNN poll conducted on the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks.
The survey also indicates that support for government monitoring of the Internet is down 8 points from right after 9/11, although there is still majority support: 55%. However, there is widespread and growing approval of the use of surveillance cameras in public places, with 81% saying they are in favor of it, nearly a 20 point jump from 2001.
The poll, conducted April 30, 2013, has a sampling error of +/-4 percentage points.
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