Time to Death and Cognitive Performance

Abstract

Research suggests that there is an accelerated decline in cognitive functioning that is related to proximity to death among older adults. Although there is mounting evidence for the presence of such terminal deficits, several issues remain unresolved. These include whether the effects are more prevalent among young-old (65 75 years) than old-old (75+ years) adults, whether all cognitive abilities are equally affected by impending mortality, whether the presence of chronic illness or the specific cause of death modifies the magnitude of the observed deficits, and whether the source (or sources) of mortality-related cognitive deficits can be identified. The current review addresses each of these issues, and provides suggestions regarding avenues of future research.