Memory improving among older Americans

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Aging baby boomers often complain of having forgetful ''senior moments,'' but new evidence suggests the memories of older Americans may have improved during the last decade.

Memory problems still increase with age, but a study in the March issue of the Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences shows that the typical senior performed much better on memory tests in 1998 than in 1993.

Only 4 percent of Americans ages 70 and older and living in the community were identified as having severe memory problems in 1998, down from 6 percent in 1993.

The research was based on interviews by the University of Michigan.

Participants were asked, for example, to repeat a list of 10 words, to count backwards from 100 by seven and to name the president and vice president of the United States. For participants too impaired to take the tests, family members and friends provided reports of memory problems.