
With 2023 predicted to be the hottest year on record, a new study is pointing to another potential consequence of heat waves: faster declines in older adults’ memory and thinking skills. The study, of nearly 9,500 older U.S. adults, found that those with greater exposure to heat waves over 12 years also showed a steeper decline in cognitive function — critical mental skills like memory, reasoning and judgment. The connection was specifically seen among older Black Americans and those living in poorer neighborhoods — groups who typically have fewer resources to protect themselves from scorching summer heat. Experts stressed that the findings show only an association between heat and cognitive decline, and cannot pin the blame on temperature extremes. Cognitive decline is complex and influenced by many factors, said lead researcher Eunyoung Choi, a postdoctoral associate at NYU School of Global Public Health in New York City. “Isolating the specific effect of extreme heat from this complex web is a challenging task,” she said. At the same time, there are reasons that repeated exposure to heat waves could affect older adults’ mental acuity, according to Choi. For one, there could be direct effects: Extreme heat can dull mental performance in the short term, and continued exposure over time might promote inflammation and damage brain cells. Sizzling temperatures could also act in indirect ways, Choi said.… read on > read on >