Having a higher IQ as a teenager may minimize your risks of developing dementia and memory lapse in old age.
In a study done by the scientists of the University Memory and Aging Center and other institutes, researchers have been able to discover that teenage intelligent quotient (IQ) may be related to how much dementia and memory loss can affect a person at his old age.Dementia is a condition where the person is affected by impaired intellectual capability. Some signs of dementia are short-term memory loss, inability to do concrete or abstract reasoning, difficulty in concentration, inappropriate behavior in social situations etc. This is not a normal degeneration of cells due to age but an acquired condition.
According to the findings of the researchers, early age behavior like those needed to take part in the extra curricular activities in schools and mental alertness leading to higher IQs as a teenager seems to have a significantly lower correlation to the risk of dementia and cognitive impairment in late life. Each of these factors alone or in combination may affect the mental alertness and its loss in later life.
Reference: The Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, July 2005
