People who show slower reaction times in middle age may go on to experience problems which increase their likely hood of dying earlier.
Studying data collected on reaction times from 5,000 people aged 20 to 59 in the early 1990s, researchers found that 378 (7.4%) people had died in the 15 years since the data was collected.
Those who had shown slower reaction times when tested in middle age were 25% more likely to have died (from any cause) than those with average reaction times.
Reaction time, and the ability to respond to new information is understood to reflect basic aspects of the central nervous system. Reaction times may be used to indicate how well the central nervous system is working and to predict survival independently of age, sex and socioeconomic background.
Read more at UCL