THE QUANTIFICATION OF THE RELATIVE EFFECTS OF AGE AND NART-PREDICTED IQ ON COGNITIVE FUNCTION IN HEALTHY OLD-PEOPLE

The cognitive function of 598 healthy old people aged 70 years or over resident in the community was measured by Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and National Adult Reading Test (NART). The 598 subjects, who were asymptomatic and on no medication, showed no significant correlation between age and NART-predicted intelligence quotient (NARTIQ), but there were significant correlations between both age and MMSE score and NARTIQ and MMSE score. These cross-sectional data suggest that the rate of decline of cognitive function may be significantly greater in subjects with lower NARTIQs; however, longitudinal data are required to test this hypothesis. The provision of normative data from a substantial number of community-resident old people should assist later studies designed to detect the precise effects of cerebral pathology or systemic disease on cognitive function in old people.