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posted by janrinok on Tuesday October 08 2019, @03:15PM   Printer-friendly

Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:

Young adults who experience annual income drops of 25 percent or more may be more at risk of having thinking problems and reduced brain health in middle age, according to a study published in the October 2, 2019, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

“Income volatility is at a record level since the 1980s and there is growing evidence that it may have pervasive effects on health, yet policies intending to smooth unpredictable income changes are being weakened in the United States and many other countries,” said study author Leslie Grasset, PhD, of the Inserm Research Center in Bordeaux, France. “Our exploratory study followed participants in the United States through the recession in the late 2000s when many people experienced economic instability. Our results provide evidence that higher income volatility and more income drops during peak earning years are linked to unhealthy brain aging in middle age.

” The study involved 3,287 people who were 23 to 35 years old at the start of the study and were enrolled in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study, which includes a racially diverse population. Participants reported their annual pre-tax household income every three to five years for 20 years, from 1990 to 2010. Researchers examined how often income dropped as well as the percentage of change in income between 1990 and 2010 for each participant. Based on the number of income drops, participants fell into three groups: 1,780 people who did not have an income drop; 1,108 who had one drop of 25 percent or more from the previous reported income; and 399 people who had two or more such drops. Participants were given thinking and memory tests that measured how well they completed tasks and how much time it took to complete them. For one test, participants used a key that paired numbers 1 to 9 with symbols.

They were then given a list of numbers and had to write down the corresponding symbols. Researchers found that people with two or more income drops had worse performances in completing tasks than people with no income drops. On average, they scored worse by 3.74 points or 2.8 percent. “For reference, this poor performance is greater than what is normally seen due to one year in aging, which is equivalent to scoring worse by only 0.71 points on average or 0.53 percent”, said Grasset. Participants with more income drops also scored worse on how much time it took to complete some tasks. The results were the same after researchers adjusted for other factors that could affect thinking skills, such as high blood pressure, education level, physical activity and smoking. There was no difference between the groups on tests that measured verbal memory.


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  • (Score: 2) by PartTimeZombie on Tuesday October 08 2019, @07:56PM (10 children)

    by PartTimeZombie (4827) on Tuesday October 08 2019, @07:56PM (#904285)

    To chime in also. Meritocracy is a pretty good idea, but very difficult to really practice.

    The proof I would offer is how you have wound up with various Trump children as "advisers" in the White House. Also, just to be balanced, look at the careers of Chelsea Clinton and her husband, also Hunter Biden, who I understand has been in the news recently.

    None of those people have ever done anything to earn the positions they have wound up in.

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  • (Score: 1, Troll) by khallow on Tuesday October 08 2019, @09:31PM (9 children)

    by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday October 08 2019, @09:31PM (#904338) Journal

    The proof I would offer is how you have wound up with various Trump children as "advisers" in the White House. Also, just to be balanced, look at the careers of Chelsea Clinton and her husband, also Hunter Biden, who I understand has been in the news recently.

    How is something that isn't a meritocracy an argument against a meritocracy?

    • (Score: 2) by PartTimeZombie on Tuesday October 08 2019, @10:16PM (8 children)

      by PartTimeZombie (4827) on Tuesday October 08 2019, @10:16PM (#904366)

      How is it that you fail to understand the point I made?

      • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 08 2019, @11:16PM (2 children)

        by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 08 2019, @11:16PM (#904389)

        That is 75% of his posts, ignoring your point as if he is making a valid point in order to appear authoritative as he pushes his agenda.

        Remember, the conservative strategy is "win at all costs" so facts and logic simply do not matter.

        • (Score: 2) by barbara hudson on Wednesday October 09 2019, @01:24AM

          by barbara hudson (6443) <barbara.Jane.hudson@icloud.com> on Wednesday October 09 2019, @01:24AM (#904455) Journal
          Only 75%? Shirley, you jest :-)
          --
          SoylentNews is social media. Says so right in the slogan. Soylentnews is people, not tech.
        • (Score: 1) by khallow on Wednesday October 09 2019, @07:16AM

          by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday October 09 2019, @07:16AM (#904564) Journal

          ignoring your point

          Why was that supposed to be a bad thing? My reply wasn't about his "point" it was about a "proof" using an example that had nothing to do with the subject.

          as he pushes his agenda

          A huge part of my agenda is non-crappy argument on the internet. You're welcome to further it.

      • (Score: 1) by khallow on Wednesday October 09 2019, @07:03AM (4 children)

        by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday October 09 2019, @07:03AM (#904561) Journal
        Let's use a car analogy. I tell you that Kia's are crap and support that argument with a horror story about my Chrysler, which isn't a Kia. In no way will any number of stories of how terrible Chryslers are ever prove that Kia's are similarly bad. It's a blatant non sequitur.

        I get you don't like the meritocracy thing for some reason. I also get that your "proof" is a story about a non-meritocracy which has nothing to do with the point you were making - unless, of course, you were somehow claiming that these seedy politicians, who let us note in turn have nothing to with young people with income drops, somehow worked their way into their positions through merit.

        Your point is not furthered by a shitty argument.
        • (Score: 2) by PartTimeZombie on Wednesday October 09 2019, @07:22PM (3 children)

          by PartTimeZombie (4827) on Wednesday October 09 2019, @07:22PM (#904858)

          Let's not use a car analogy.

          Let's just not pretend we live in anything approaching a meritocracy, which is the point I made, as you well know.

          • (Score: 1) by khallow on Thursday October 10 2019, @04:51AM (2 children)

            by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Thursday October 10 2019, @04:51AM (#905055) Journal

            Let's just not pretend we live in anything approaching a meritocracy

            At least where politics is concerned. I'm not similarly convinced about the people who can't figure out how to save $1000 for an emergency.

            • (Score: 2) by PartTimeZombie on Friday October 11 2019, @12:53AM (1 child)

              by PartTimeZombie (4827) on Friday October 11 2019, @12:53AM (#905490)

              ...people who can't figure out how to save $1000 for an emergency.

              Why don't they just get their Father to get them a job at a hedge fund?