This article has nothing to do with John McCain

One-Third of Seniors Mentally Impaired
Large Number Surprises Researchers

By Rob Stein
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, March 18, 2008

More than 5 million elderly people have a hard time remembering things, sorting through daily decisions and even sometimes knowing what day it is, according to the first national estimate of how commonly the minds of aging Americans are starting to fade.

Using detailed evaluations of a nationally representative sample of 856 people ages 71 and older, the federally sponsored study concluded that 22 percent have begun to see their mental faculties decline, which translates into 5.4 million people.

"It's a huge number," said Brenda L. Plassman, a psychiatrist at Duke University Medical Center who led the study being published today in the Annals of Internal Medicine. "This is the first time we have an estimate of the number of Americans who have this condition," she said, noting that the findings show that mild cognitive problems are as common as diabetes in this age group.

Combined with a previous estimate that 3.4 million Americans have full dementia, such as Alzheimer's disease, the new findings mean that more than one-third of people age 71 and older have some diminished mental function, the researchers said. About 25 million people in this age group live in the United States.

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