The quantification of the relative effects of age and NART‐predicted IQ on cognitive function in healthy old people

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Abstract
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.