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Background and Objectives The existing literature highlights the importance of reading books in middle-to-older adulthood for cognitive functioning; very few studies, however, have examined the importance of childhood cognitive resources for cognitive outcomes later in life. Research Design and Methods Using data from 11 countries included in the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) data set (N  = 32,783), multistate survival models (MSMs) were fit to examine the importance of access to reading material in childhood on transitions through cognitive status categories (no cognitive impairment and impaired cognitive functioning) and death. Additionally, using the transition probabilities estimated by the MSMs, we estimated the remaining years of life without cognitive impairment and total longevity. All models were fit individually in each country, as well as within the pooled SHARE sample. Results Adjusting for age, sex, education, and childhood socioeconomic status, the overall pooled estimate indicated that access to more books at age 10 was associated with a decreased risk of developing cognitive impairment (adjusted hazard ratio = 0.79, confidence interval: 0.76–0.82). Access to childhood books was not associated with risk of transitioning from normal cognitive functioning to death, or from cognitive impairment to death. Total longevity was similar between participants reporting high (+1 standard deviation [ SD ]) and low (−1 SD) number of books in the childhood home; however, individuals with more access to childhood books lived a greater proportion of this time without cognitive impairment. Discussion and Implications Findings suggest that access to cognitive resources in childhood is protective for cognitive aging processes in older adulthood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors reflect on the heat wave in Europe in 2003 which caused an excess mortality in all age groups, with older people as the most affected. They report that frail older people who lived alone, had pre-existing chronic diseases, and were taking drugs, had the highest mortality rate during the heat wave. During heat waves, some of the reported causes of death included dehydration, heat related morbidity, hyperthermia, and heat syncope. The authors also present signs of dehydration and measures needed to reduce heat-related mortality.