For many people, remembering to take their daily medicine can be the difference between life and death. Yet, people forget all the time. Now a study from North Carolina State University has found that changes in daily behavior have a significant effect on whether we remember to take our medicine-and that these changes influence older and younger adults differently.
“We've found that it is not just differences between people, but differences in what we do each day, that affect our ability to remember to take medicine,” says Dr. Shevaun Neupert, lead author of a paper describing the research. “This is the first time anyone has looked at the effect of daily changes in how busy we are affects our ability to remember medicines.”
“For example, young people do the best job of remembering to take their medicine on days when they are busier than usual,” Neupcrt says. “But older adults do a better job of remembering their medicine on days when they are less busy.”
The researchers evaluated study participants who were on daily medicines. The participants were divided into two groups: younger adults(between the ages of 18 and 20) and older adults(between the ages of 60 and 89).
For both age groups, the researchers found that participants were more likely to remember to take their medicines on days when they performed better than usual on “cognition(认知)tests”-which evaluate memory and critical thinking.
“We found that cognition is an important factor in remembering medicines,” Neupert says. “but that how busy we are is also important." This has very real applications for helping people remember to take medicines that can be essential to their health and well-being.
“We've found such a disparity between young and old adults, that it's clear we need to tailor our messages to these two groups.” Neupert says. “For example, it is important for young people to stay busy and be active. That will help them, remember to take their medicines. However, we need to let older adults-know that they need to give particular attention to remembering medicines on days when they expect to be busier than usual.”
1.Which shows what is new about the research on remembering medicines?
A.Age differences. B.Differences between people.
C.Changes in the amount of work. D.Changes in the types of work.
2.What does the underlined word “disparity” in the last paragraph probably mean?
A.Difference. B.Disadvantage.
C.Connection. D.Coincidence.
3.What should old adults do when they are likely to forget their medicine?
A.Keep themselves busy. B.Take a cognition test.
C.Always remind themselves about it. D.Think of their health and well-being.
4.What does the research on remembering medicines focus on?
A.One's daily medicine and daily work.
B.The time and place to take medicine.
C.The connection between medicine and health.
D.Changes in daily behavior and age differences.