AGE-RELATED DIFFERENCES IN COGNITION - LIFE-STYLE, HEALTH-STATUS, COPING AND SOCIODEMOGRAPHIC FACTORS

This study examines to what extent memory capacity is influenced by li festyle, health or sociodemographic factors, The data were derived fro m the Maastricht Aging Study (MAAS), a large study carried out in The Netherlands. For the current study 1,673 people aged 24-88 years compl eted a postal survey on 'Health, Cognition, and Psychosocial factors'. The dependent variable was 'memory capacity' as measured by the Metam emory in Adulthood (MIA) questionnaire. The study shows that age, gend er and coping abilities play an important role in influencing the vari ation in memory capacity. The lifestyle factors of smoking and mental activity also had a significant effect on memory capacity in certain a ge-specific subgroups. These results suggests that future research sho uld focus on these variables as determinants of cognitive ageing.