BOSTON: Next time you’re stuck behind a slow-moving older person and find yourself entertaining negative stereotypes about aging, consider this: A new study finds that people who were inclined to believe that older people were slower, unhappier and less sharp than the rest of us are more likely – when, decades later, they become older themselves – to exhibit the brain changes seen in those with Alzheimer’s disease.
That should teach you to respect your elders.
The latest findings are no mere fluke, either. They add to a welter of research that has found that holding negative views about aging puts one at greater risk of developing cardiovascular disease, of swifter cognitive decline – including memory problems – later in life.