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Association of Crossword Puzzle Participation with Memory Decline in Persons Who Develop Dementia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 September 2011

Jagan A. Pillai ,
Charles B. Hall ,
Dennis W. Dickson ,
Herman Buschke ,
Richard B. Lipton  and
Joe Verghese
Jagan A. Pillai
Affiliation:
Department of Neurosciences, University of California San Diego, San Diego, California Department of Neurology, VA Medical Center San Diego, San Diego, California
Charles B. Hall
Affiliation:
Saul B. Korey Department of Neurology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York Department of Epidemiology & Population Health, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York Einstein Aging Study, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York
Dennis W. Dickson
Affiliation:
Einstein Aging Study, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York Department of Neuroscience, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, Florida
Herman Buschke
Affiliation:
Saul B. Korey Department of Neurology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York Einstein Aging Study, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York
Richard B. Lipton
Affiliation:
Saul B. Korey Department of Neurology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York Department of Epidemiology & Population Health, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York Einstein Aging Study, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York
Joe Verghese*
Affiliation:
Saul B. Korey Department of Neurology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York Einstein Aging Study, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York
*
Correspondence and reprint requests to: Joe Verghese, Division of Cognitive & Motor Aging, Department of Neurology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 1165 Morris Park Avenue, Bronx, NY 10461. E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

Participation in cognitively stimulating leisure activities such as crossword puzzles may delay onset of the memory decline in the preclinical stages of dementia, possibly via its effect on improving cognitive reserve. We followed 488 initially cognitively intact community residing individuals with clinical and cognitive assessments every 12–18 months in the Bronx Aging Study. We assessed the influence of crossword puzzle participation on the onset of accelerated memory decline as measured by the Buschke Selective Reminding Test in 101 individuals who developed incident dementia using a change point model. Crossword puzzle participation at baseline delayed onset of accelerated memory decline by 2.54 years. Inclusion of education or participation in other cognitively stimulating activities did not significantly add to the fit of the model beyond the effect of puzzles. Our findings show that late life crossword puzzle participation, independent of education, was associated with delayed onset of memory decline in persons who developed dementia. Given the wide availability and accessibility of crossword puzzles, their role in preventing cognitive decline should be validated in future clinical trials. (JINS, 2011, 17, 1006–1013)

Keywords

DementiaCognitive declinePuzzlesMemoryElderlyNeuropsychology
Type
Symposium
Information
Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society , Volume 17 , Issue 6 , November 2011 , pp. 1006 - 1013
Copyright
Copyright © The International Neuropsychological Society 2011

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