Science Explains Jan 6: Angry Young People Get More Stupid As They Age

American Academy of Neurology

“Hostile attitudes” and “Effortful coping” in young adulthood predict cognition 25 years later”

https://doi.org/10.1212/WNL.0000000000002517

https://n.neurology.org/content/86/13/1227

Results:

“Baseline hostility and effortful coping were prospectively associated with lower cognitive function 25 years later, controlling for age, sex, race, education, long-term exposure to depression, discrimination, negative life events, and baseline cognitive ability.” 

“Compared to the lowest quartile, those in the highest quartile of hostility performed 0.21 SD units lower (95% confidence interval [CI] −0.39, −0.02).” 

“Those in the highest quartile of effortful coping performed 0.30 SD units lower (95% CI −0.48, −0.12) compared to those in the lowest quartile.” 

Conclusions: 

“Worse cognition in midlife was independently associated with two psychological characteristics measured in young adulthood. This suggests that interventions that promote positive social interactions may have a role in reducing risk of late-age cognitive impairment.”

Duh. For good measure, here’s AI’s rewrite in layman’s language:

“People who showed more hostility and those who had to put in extra effort to cope with challenges in early adulthood tended to have lower cognitive function 25 years later. This was true even after considering factors like age, sex, race, education level, past experiences with depression, discrimination, negative life events, and their initial cognitive abilities.

“Those in the group with the highest levels of hostility scored lower on cognitive tests than those in the least hostile group. Similarly, those who had to exert the most effort to cope with difficulties also scored lower than those who coped more easily.

“The takeaway: Having more hostility or struggling significantly with coping in early adulthood may be linked to poorer thinking and memory skills later in life. This suggests that encouraging positive social interactions and emotional well-being early on might help lower the risk of cognitive decline as people age.”