>> QUESTIONS ABOUT AGE IN MEMORY HAVE RESURFACED IN THE U.S. PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION.

THIS IN LIGHT OF A SPECIAL COUNSEL REPORT THAT REFERS TO PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN HAS A, QUOTE, WELL-MEANING ELDERLY MAN WITH A POOR MEMORY.

BIDEN IS 81 AND HIS CHIEF OPPONENT, FORMER PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP IS 77.

BUT OLDER AGE ISN'T NECESSARILY THE ONLY INDICATOR OF BRAIN COGNITION.

JOINING US, OUR MOLLY MATHER ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF PSYCHIATRY AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES AT NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY, FEINBERG SCHOOL OF MEDICINE.

AND JAY OLSHANSKY PROFESSOR PUBLIC HEALTH AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS, CHICAGO.

THANKS TO BOTH FOR JOINING US.

JAY OLD AGE OFTEN CITED AS A CONCERN, ESPECIALLY AS OF FOR SOME VOTERS WHEN IT COMES TO THE PRESIDENCY ABOUT WHAT CONCERN.

I'M GOING TO BE THERE'S NO QUESTION.

>> AS YOU GET OLDER, THE RISK OF THINGS GOING RISES THE RISK OF DEATH DOUBLES ABOUT EVERY 7 YEARS.

SO YOU CAN'T DENY THE FACT THAT THERE ARE ISSUES ASSOCIATED WITH GROWING OLDER.

IT'S JUST THAT WE DON'T ALL GROW OLD.

AT THE SAME RATE, WE CAN'T TREAT EVERYONE EXACTLY THE SAME WAY.

SO YEAH, IT'S LEGITIMATE.

BUT PERHAPS WE HAVE TO BE CAUTIOUS ABOUT WHAT'S GOING ON WITH THE 2 CANDIDATES.

THEY'RE DIFFERENT ISSUES AS AS WE AGE AND DIFFERENT FACTORS THAT IMPACT THEM.

>> WE'RE GOING TO GET ALL THAT A LITTLE BIT MORE.

WHEN WE EXPAND THIS BEYOND THE U.S. PRESIDENCY, OF COURSE, IN THE AGE OF THE PRESIDENT, HOW COMMON ARE COGNITIVE CHANGES IN OLDER ADULTS.

>> YES, SO COME.

KIND CHANGES ARE QUITE AS WE AGE.

BUT FOR THE MOST PART, YOU KNOW, THOSE ARE RELATIVELY HONESTLY, FROM THE TIME THAT WE'RE ABOUT IN OUR 30'S, THINGS TEND TO DECLINE A LITTLE OVER THE YEARS.

BUT THOSE ARE CERTAIN TYPES OF COGNITIVE ABOUT THESE THINGS LIKE BEING ABLE TO THINK ON YOUR BE ABLE TO ATTEND TO MULTIPLE PIECES OF INFORMATION MANAGE COMPLEX SITUATIONS.

THOSE THINGS TEND TO, YOU KNOW, SEE A LITTLE BIT DECLINED.

WHEN YOU LOOK JUST CROSS, ACTUALLY, YOU KNOW, 40 YEAR-OLDS VERSUS 50 VERSUS 60.

THAT BEING SAID THERE'S MORE VARIABILITY AS PEOPLE AGE.

SO THERE'S PEOPLE WHO DO MUCH BETTER THAN THE AVERAGE MUCH WORSE THAN THE AVERAGE AND THAT INCREASES OVER TIME.

SO REALLY, IT'S YOU'RE KIND OF MISSING A LOT OF THAT THEY WANT.

IF YOU JUST LOOK AT KIND OF THE AVERAGE TRAJECTORY FOR ANYONE IN 80'S, WHAT DOES COGNITIVE DECLINE LOOK LIKE IN OLDER ADULTS?

>> I MEAN IT IT GENERALLY IS BIT OF A LOSS OF COGNITIVE EFFICIENCY.

SO >> YOU KNOW, BEING ABLE TO REMEMBER THE PHONE NUMBER THAT SOMEONE SAYS TO LONG ENOUGH TO PUT IT IN THE PHONE.

THAT'S SOMETHING PEOPLE COMPLAIN ABOUT A DO THAT NOW.

I CAN'T DO SO IT'S REALLY THE STUFF THAT THAT'S KIND OF ONLINE THINKING BEING ABLE TO RESPOND QUICKLY MANAGE, YOU KNOW, COMPLICATED.

I THINK IMPORTANT MISSION THE FLIP SIDE OF QUESTION.

ALL RIGHT.

SO YOU ONLY ASKED ABOUT COGNITIVE DECLINE.

THERE THINGS THAT IMPROVE.

>> AS WE GET OLDER IS CRYSTALLIZED THE ABILITY TO MAKE IMPROVE SPACE THAT ACQUIRED KNOWLEDGE AND SO IT'S NOT YOUR DIRECTION THAT EVERYONE IS CRYING DOWNHILL.

YOU KNOW, AS PEOPLE GET OLDER, OFF AND MAKE BETTER DECISIONS.

WE'RE TALKING OF A SUPER AGERS.

WHAT IS THAT AND ARE EITHER OF THESE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES ALSO A CANDIDATE FOR ADAM, WHERE I WORK THE MATCH ON CENTER HAS BEEN STUDYING WHAT WE CALL SUPER AGERS FOR DECADES.

WELL, BEFORE WORKED >> AND WHAT THAT MEANS IS SORT OF A SPECIFIC DEFINITION THAT THE NORTHWESTERN TO BRIDGING PROGRAM HAD COME UP WITH WITCHES.

>> PEOPLE WHO HAVE, YOU KNOW, NORMAL FUNCTIONING.

THERE'S NO CONCERNS THAT THEY'RE BELOW AVERAGE FOR ANYTHING.

THEN THEY ACTUALLY HAVE BETTER THAN AVERAGE MEMORY.

THEIR MEMORY IS AS GOOD AS PEOPLE WHO ARE IN THEIR 50'S OR 60'S.

SO TODAY, THE STRENGTH AND MEMORY THAT WE SEE AND THIS CAME OUT OF OBSERVATIONS OF PEOPLE WHO ACTUALLY DO QUITE INTO THEIR 80'S AND BEYOND.

AND SOME FINDINGS ABOUT THE BRAINS OF OF MANY PEOPLE WHO ARE IN THEIR 80'S ACTUALLY LOOK MUCH HEALTHIER MAYBE YOU WOULD EXPECT.

SO THIS IS KIND OF A SPECIAL GROUP, SUPERIOR AGING GROUP, SO TO SPEAK THEM AND THEIR THEIR FAITH MATING.

JAY, WHAT CAN WE GATHER ABOUT HOW JOE BIDEN AND DONALD OUR AGING BASED ON WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT MEDICAL RECORDS AND HISTORY?

WELL, I CAN TELL YOU, MY COLLEAGUES AND I EXAMINED MEDICAL RECORDS IN DETAIL.

WE PUBLISHED AN ARTICLE.

>> WHAT THE REDDIT RECORDS TELL US.

THE MEDICAL RECORDS CRYSTAL CLEAR.

BOTH OF THEM, BIDEN AND TRUMP.

EXHIBIT CHARACTERISTICS OF EXCELLENT AGING.

DONALD TRUMP DOES HAVE FROM HAS HE HAS SOME RISK FACTORS SO BC HAS A FAMILY HISTORY OF ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE BY PRACTICALLY TAKING NO MEDICATIONS, THE EXERCISES.

HE IS NOT LIKE THE AVERAGE 81 YEAR-OLD.

MOLLY, WHAT ARE SOME OF THE FACTORS THAT THAT CAN DETERMINE HOW SOMEONE AGES?

YEAH, I MEAN, THAT HONESTLY IS THE BIG QUESTION THAT WE DON'T.

>> HAVE THE ANSWER TO OF HOW SOMEONE GETS ON ONE TRAJECTORY OR ANOTHER.

BUT IF YOU LOOK AT CHARACTERISTICS AND TRAITS OF PEOPLE WHO TEND TO AGE.

WELL, THEY TEND TO, YOU KNOW, BE RELATIVELY HEALTHY, PHYSICALLY.

ONE THING THAT WE REALLY SEE A LOT AND THEY'RE SUPER AGERS IS BEING ACTIVE, BEING ENGAGED WHATEVER IT IS THAT THEY FIND MOST MEANINGFUL AND INTERESTING.

SO IT'S NOT THE SAME THING FOR EVERY PERSON THAT'S MAYBE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT FOR SOME PEOPLE OR VERY STRONG FRIENDSHIPS, OUR FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS FOR ANOTHER.

AND THEY TEND TO HAVE GOOD POSITIVE SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS.

SO THAT'S A PROTECTIVE FACTOR AS WELL.

WE A LOT OF STUFF WE DON'T KNOW YET.

THEY'RE ALSO THE SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH.

AGE.

TELL HOW THAT HOW DOES THAT PLAY IN?

>> YEAH, I FOR ONE THING, YOU KNOW, ANY EXPERIENCES OF DISCRIMINATION OR DIFFICULTY ACCESSING HEALTH CARE.

THERE'S A WHOLE LOT OF REASONS THAT HEALTH DISPARITIES ARISE IN DIFFERENT POPULATIONS.

THOSE THINGS TEND TO PUT YOU AT HIGHER RISK FOR VARIOUS CARDIOVASCULAR PROBLEMS, WHICH ALSO THEN PUT YOU AT HIGHER RISK OF HAVING BRAIN DISEASE LATER IN LIFE ARE DEVELOPING.

>> A DISEASE LIKE ALZHEIMER'S STRESS IS NOT GOOD FOR YOUR BRAIN IN GENERAL.

SO CHRONIC STRESS CAN REALLY KIND WAY ON ON HOW YOU'RE DOING AND AND HAVE NEGATIVE OUTCOMES.

PEOPLE WHO ARE LOWER INCOME TEND TO HAVE ABSOLUTELY LEVELS OF J.

OF COURSE, YOU KNOW, AS QUESTIONS ABOUT AGE COME UP IN THIS ELECTION CYCLE AND HOW OLD IS TOO OLD TO RUN FOR PRESIDENT MANDATORY RETIREMENT ARE NOT UNHEARD OF IN SOME PROFESSIONS.

PILOTS, FOR EXAMPLE, ARE REQUIRED TO RETIRE AT 65.

>> BEEN TALK ABOUT PUSHING THAT TO 67.

WHAT'S YOUR TAKE ON A MANDATORY RETIREMENT AGE FOR ANYTHING?

FOR MOST THINGS, I WOULD BE DEAD SET AGAINST A MANDATORY RETIREMENT AGE REALLY, FOR ANYTHING.

>> I LOOK, WE DON'T ALL AGENT THE SAME RATE.

SOME PEOPLE MAKE IT OUT TO THEIR 80'S.

>> AND 90'S AND THEY'RE FUNCTIONING PERFECTLY WELL.

THEY CAN BE PRESIDENT CEO, YOUR PHYSICIAN, WHATEVER AND SOME PEOPLE CAN'T DO WELL IN THEIR 40'S AND 50'S.

SO, YOU KNOW, DRAWING CONCLUSIONS ABOUT EVERYONE BASED BASED ON A SUBGROUP OF THE POPULATION THAT'S EXHIBITING BAD CHARACTERISTICS.

I THINK IT'S A BAD IDEA.

WE WERE ACTUALLY TALKING ABOUT THIS IN THE ROOM BEFORE WE CAME IN HERE.

IT'S THE ANALOGY THAT YOU USE WITH LIFE TEENAGERS A REALLY GOOD SO SHOULD WE BAN ALL TEENAGERS FROM DRIVING?

>> NO, AGREE WITH YOU ALWAYS MAKE THE BEST SPEAKING OF DECISION-MAKING, WHAT I'D LIKE TO SEE.

I DON'T KNOW IF YOU'RE A FAN OF E. >> X MEN SERIES X MEN SERIES IS ABOUT A GROUP OF MOSTLY YOUNG PEOPLE WITH SUPER POWERS THAT BAD DECISIONS.

I WOULD LOVE TO SEE NEW X MEN THAT IS AN OLDER INDIVIDUAL THAT USES WISDOM AND KNOWLEDGE FOR MAKING GOOD DECISIONS.

THAT MARVEL HAS A NEW SUPERPOWER.

HAHA, I THINK MARVEL IS IN CHARGE IT GOES BACK TO WHOLE SAYING YOUTH BEING WASTED ON THE YOUNG RIGHT, LIKE THEY'RE THEY'RE PHYSICALLY ABLE AND WE'VE GOT ABOUT A COUPLE OF SECONDS.

A COUPLE OF SECONDS LEFT.

WHAT IMPACT DOES YOU KNOW WORKING MUCH LATER IN LIFE HAPPEN, HEALTH AND WELL-BEING AS WELL.

DEPENDS ON THE IF IT'S A GOOD, MEANINGFUL POSITION AND SOMETHING THAT BRING LIKE POSITIVE ASPECTS FROM AND THEY'RE LIKE A DIFFERENT RING.

>> THAT'S REASON THAT PEOPLE CAN'T KEEP WORKING.

ON THE OTHER HAND, IF IT'S A VERY STRESSFUL TO HAVE YOU KNOW, IT'S IT'S JUST ANOTHER KIND OF MIGHT BE TIME TO FIND