The Washington Post (5/17, Reynolds) reports a study suggests that “being in good shape during middle age was associated with about a 2 to 3% improvement in both health span and lifespan, translating to about a year and a half to two years of longer, healthier living.” The researchers tracked thousands of midlife men and women who visited a Dallas clinic “for checkups, most of which included treadmill tests to estimate aerobic capacity.” They “followed people’s Medicare records deep into retirement and usually until death, noting if and when they developed any of 11 common and serious age-related conditions.” They concluded that “people who had been the most fit in middle age lived longer in old age than less-fit people, with fewer diseases that appeared later.” Specifically, participants in the fittest group “tended to develop their first major illness, if any, about 1½ years later in life than people in the least-fit group.” The study was published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

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— “The Washington Post (requires login and subscription)

Neurology Advisor (5/15, Saha) reported a study found that “cognitive reserve is associated with delayed symptom onset and slower clinical progression among individuals with dominantly inherited Alzheimer disease (AD).” Researchers observed that among asymptomatic carriers of dominantly inherited AD, “a 1 SD increase in cognitive reserve was associated with higher odds of remaining clinically unimpaired (odds ratio [OR], 3.66). A 1 SD increase in the cognitive biomarker component was also associated with greater odds of remaining unimpaired (OR, 7.77), whereas the demographic component was not significantly associated (OR, 1.24). Among symptomatic carriers, a 1 SD increase in cognitive reserve was associated with a 0.83-fold reduction in baseline CDR-SB score, while a 1 SD increase in the biomarker component was associated with a 0.60-fold reduction.” The study was published in Neurology.

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— “Cognitive Reserve Delays Symptom Onset in Dominantly Inherited AD,”Rajan Saha, Neurology Advisor, May 15, 2026

HealthDay (5/14, Thompson) reports a study found that people with autism spectrum disorder sometimes cope with feelings of anxiety and “uncertainty by labeling their feelings.” The researchers “had more than 500 Japanese adults ages 20 to 39 complete an online questionnaire that measured their” ASD “traits, their ability to manage uncertainty and their anxiety levels.” They observed that “people who had more” ASD “traits tended to experience stronger anxiety in uncertain situations, a condition known as intolerance of uncertainty. Further, those with higher intolerance of uncertainty tended to label their emotions more often as a coping mechanism.” The researchers believe “others might be able to aid this process by offering the right words to describe how a” person with autism spectrum disorder “is feeling.” The study was published in Scientific Reports.

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— “Naming Emotions Can Help Autistic People Cope With Anxiety, Study Finds,”Dennis Thompson, HealthDay, May 14, 2026

HealthDay (5/14, Thompson) reports a study found that “heart attack survivors have a yearly 5% increased risk of developing cognitive impairment.” The research team “tracked the brain function of nearly 21,000 men and women over a 10-year period. The participants underwent a medical interview and electrocardiogram at the start of the study to determine whether they’d had a heart attack in the past.” Study results showed “that people who’d had a silent heart attack experienced an accelerated rate of brain decline compared to those who hadn’t had a heart attack. This matters more for women, who more often experienced silent heart attacks, researchers said.” The study was published in Stroke.

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— “Heart Attack Survivors Have Higher Risk Of Brain Decline,”Dennis Thompson, HealthDay, May 14, 2026

Psychiatry Advisor (5/13, Kuhns) reports that research indicates that “dementia in” patients with “severe, extremely treatment-resistant schizophrenia is a distinct cognitive syndrome that is not adequately explained by Alzheimer disease (AD), other neurodegenerative dementias, antipsychotic exposure, cardiometabolic risk factors, poor effort, premorbid intellectual disability, or long-term institutionalization.” Investigators came to this conclusion after using data from New York state hospitals to study “continuously hospitalized adults with schizophrenia,” all of whom had been “hospitalized for at least 5 years.” The findings were published in JAMA Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Dementia in Schizophrenia Reflects Intrinsic Disease Not Neurodegeneration,”Lisa Kuhns, Psychiatry Advisor, May 13, 2026