There are some recent studies that indicate that working after the age of 65 could be beneficial for cognitive functioning (Roberts et al., 2011), although there is also data to the contrary. In this situation, Kandauda Wickrama and Catherine Walker, from the University of Georgia in the United States have published an interesting study on the relationship between work after 65 years and memory function. They evaluated a sample of 8,165 people over 65 years of age at three times between 2002 and 2006, collecting information on their employment situation (full-time job, retired …), the type of work they did (manual, professional …) and variables such as age or educational level. They also assessed their immediate memory by presenting them with a list of ten words that they had to learn and asking the participants to repeat aloud all those words that they could remember immediately after finishing their presentation. After several minutes, they would test their delayed memory by asking them again to recall the same list of words.
The results of the study showed that employment status was a good predictor of the rate of immediate memory impairment between 2002 and 2006. Those over 65 who had held a full-time job showed less decline in memory immediate, even after controlling for other variables such as age.
As the authors themselves suggest, it is very possible that being ‘active’ at work, means maintaining a higher level of immediate memory exercise, and maintaining certain habits of intellectual and social life in adult life has already been shown to favor a better level cognitive performance. The role that variables such as work stress have on this relationship between work and memory remains to be ascertained.
Marisa Fernández, Senior Neuropsychologist, Unobrain
