Boomers show ‘shocking’ decline in cognitive functioning compared to previous generations, study says

Researchers suggest prevalence of dementia may rise in coming decades

American adults belonging in the baby boomer generation showed a “shocking” decline in cognitive functioning compared with members of previous generations, a new study has found.

Researchers from Ohio State University were studying the declining prevalence of dementia in the US over the last few decades and found that the average cognition scores among those born between 1890 and 1947 increased from generation to generation.

But scores began to decline among adults born between 1948 to 1959, worsening for those born in the last five years of that subset.