Or high-fructose corn syrup?

Obesity skyrocketed in this country in the late 70s, about the same time that HFCS took the place of sugar.

Not to mention aspartame, which is very, very bad for the human body.

I'd look at those two additives first.

Or maybe it is that the 85 and older group just don't know that they are confused and don't remember.

Well, I am not in the above age group, I am 51 and was discussing this issue with a 56 year old friend. Mentally, I used to be sharp as a tack and now I am more like a blunt knife. She feels the same way and we decided to blame it on the infamous menopausal fog. I sure hope that fog will eventually lift and not morph into the above mentioned memory loss and confusion.

Petra, I think you can safely blame it on menopausal fog. Or a sluggish thyroid. Or any number of things. Brain fog is different from memory loss.....it's more of an inability to concentrate, somewhat similar to absentmindedness, which definitely gets worse with age!

Rosemary, I agree--two wicked food additives. The population is way too trusting when it comes to what we ingest.

LOL Gazania!

I think they are just starting to have these problems, and are very aware of them. As one gets older, you are more used to the idea that your memory is haywire, and learn to live with it!!

How about the fact that many of the baby boomer generation dropped-in and dropped-out with a greater frequency in their youth than most of us really oldsters ever gave a thought to doing. All that chemical consumption had to play a role in these latest findings whether acknowledged or not.

Just a thought!

How about the polio vaccines and sugar cubes that were given to boomers when they were children and adolescents? "Dr. Mary's Monkey" is a very interesting read. It is mostly about the cancer causing properties of the polio vaccine when it was derived from monkey kidneys.

I read the book a few months ago (and my memory is not as sharp as it used to be lol) so I chose to copy a brief excerpt from a review at Amazon: "In short the polio vaccine made from monkey kidneys carried the SV-40 virus which remains dormant inside baby boomers who received the polio vaccine until the immune system is weakened to the point where the SV-40 Virus can transform into one of the major cancer's: lung, breast, soft tissue, bone cancer, etc. In the early 50's 22,000 new cases of polio was called an epidemic, and Ed Haslam now ask, how come around a million new cases of cancer each year is NOT being called a cancer epidemic? I think it's a fair question."

I don't doubt that this virus is causing a lot of other problems besides cancer in the population today. One of the very best books I have read in a long time.

Either the fact is we have been adversely affected by our hi sugar/fat/chemical diets we have been shoving down our cosmetically altered faces or they didn't have surveys asking this question 25 years ago. All of the seniors I ask when they first found themselves having memory loss and bouts of confusion if they have toes episodes now tell me early 60's. That's what I noticed when in the workforce. It was the 60 year olds that I encouraged to take their pensions as they sure were not the same just a few years earlier. Not remembering simple tasks they once took for granted or a look of what am I supposed to do now. This is in a position where decisions can lead to injury or loss of life. I would never encourage a career change if not a critical occupation. I was once told this is a young mans job. This doesn't hold true for all individuals however. I worked and did business with those in their 70's that I couldn't hold a match to when I was 40. Think Ronald Reagan in his early 70's. One of the sharpest of his time, politics not withstanding.

1 in 8 is not bad, what was I saying? Where am I?

This post was edited by SouthernCanuck on Fri, May 10, 13 at 15:13

Who could know? This the first study to ask this question. Maybe it's 'normal'. Maybe early 'Forgetfuls' don't live to BE eighty.

Maybe they're stressed. Some are caring for those Eighties. Some are still supporting their kids -- even grandkids. If what we read about retirement savings is true, a lot of them don't have any, but are being 'retired' by their employers anyway.

Oh -- I like this better -- maybe they ARE retired and living in a pleasant haze on a beach, with a mai-tai in hand. "Oh, dear, did I miss my tee time again?"

a story in the news a few weeks ago reported on a direct link found between consuming sugar & alzheimers. the study was published in this country using a large group. It definitely made me think about sugar now and cut back. ~ liz

Everyone can and will blame so much, but along with diet, stress is a big thing. That generation, along with the ones coming up are exposed to so much more than our generation has ever seen. I am 80 and we did not have to worry or see as much as our younger friends and relatives have seen or will see.
Another thing with so much electronics the younger people do not take time to play puzzles either on line or on a card table. Many of them either cannot or will not just take relaxing vacation--that being said, how many even take a nice relaxing trip/camping or otherwise. Everything has to be planned out. I love to do hidden object games and find that when I do, I seem to be much more alert to everything. These are just some of my ideas.

I was just thinking about stress, too, Marie. It's well documented that stress affects short-term memory, etc. People 60-65 might be worrying about their health, keeping their jobs, or affording retirement, or any number of things. I would hope the 85+ group isn't terribly stressed, although one never knows.

When I first read the article my immediate thought was of a friend of mine who was prescribed a bunch of meds for heart, blood pressure, and diabetes following surgery in his fifties. The change in his personality and cognition was dramatic. I blamed the meds, but I also think it's conceivable that he was affected by the surgery. When I was given Versed for my cataract surgery two years ago it took months to get my memory back to normal. I could feel thoughts slipping away, and as hard as I tried to hold on to them, they would disappear. It was scary.

Another thing I just remembered (ha ha) I read a while ago is that as we get older, our thirst sensation decreases and we drink less. This leads to chronic dehydration and resulting health problems. Dehydration can even mimic dementia. The article suggested that people over 50 drink a glass of water at least every couple of hours to prevent problems. Now, how to remember to do that. :o)

Marie you said;

"I am 80 and we did not have to worry or see as much as our younger friends and relatives have seen or will see."

I disagree, Mom is the same age as you. You both dealt with the Great Depression and WW2. Not knowing if there was enough to eat or watching loved ones go off to war and not returning has to be stressful, maybe not as a child in the 30's but surely as a teen in the 40's. That time period has had an effect her entire life.

Not having a new car and a bigger house isn't real stress unless one lets it. Your generation amazes me, in a good way. Bless you.

I too wonder about the early use of recreational drugs by the boomers who were born after WWII. I also remember so many of them as teens and 20-somethings who turned up their radios so loudly, even with head phones. That had to have some effect on their hearing eventually.

I'm 64. Never used drugs, love my life (so not much stress). I am struggling to remember words, it just ticks me off royally. I wave my hands around trying to think of the simplest word. SO frustrating.

southern c...you're right...those things affected my mother to the point she rarely went home to visit...her days in hs, were wearing the same clothes over and over....she left kansas shortly after graduation to ca...she passed away in 2005 at 89...sharp in her thinking, though...i at 66 do have my moments where i can't remember "jack cheese", and aside from exactly 2 diet pills (omg they were what they now call uppers) and raised in downtown hollywood, didn't drink or smoke...

I am nearing the 80 yr old group. I think the difference is we now realize that the stuff we forgot was not important to us. So long as we remember the important stuff, the rest does not matter, and you know what, loosing some memory trash doesn't bother me as much anymore.

I find this discussion really interesting. Because I'm 63. With no memory problems. And my daughter is 33 and has an 8 month old (who wakes up to nurse during the night) and a barely 2 year old and she's having memory problems, probably because she hasn't had an unbroken night sleep for about 18 months. (Difficult pregnancy.) So, how much of these "memory problems" are environmental (i.e. not getting good sleep?) Hmmmm.

That's why I have to shake my head when they start talking about raising social security age and talking about people working long past 65...I mean seriously, you can't keep working forever, you just can't do the job anymore when you get old. Yes, some are lucky and stay youthful but most just aren't very sharp anymore.

Funny, I went to a medical meeting for MS patients.(My husband has multiple clerosis). The doctor discussed changes in cognition in MS. She said aging also produces changes in the brain and nervous system. The keys to fighting age are maintaining good health, control weight, blood pressure and blood sugar,etc, get some exercise, and keep your mind active. Good brain activities are reading, doing games and puzzles, and keeping in social contact with others. TV watching is not brain exercise.

Petra: Now, MY memory may be fading, but I'm sure I saw a TV show in which a character's memory slips were blamed on not drinking enough water! Maybe it was "Doc Martin"?

I think today's society is also so distracted by things older folks never were -- cellphones, computers, tending to both their children and parents, commuting stress. Our attention is so heavily divided that we can't successfully focus on one thing at a time. And we're still doing it when we try to sleep.

Throw in chemical additives (food and otherwise), can't help but not be surprised.

I'm not quite of the boomer generation, but for a few years now I've noticed cognitive slips -- searching for the right word, the right name, forgetting 1 of just 3 things I wanted at the store, things popping into and straight out of my mind ...