Terminal pathologies affect rates of decline to different extents and age accelerates the effects of terminal pathology on cognitive decline.

Objectives: To test whether different terminal pathologies are associated with different rates of age-related decline in fluid and crystallized mental abilities and whether pathology-associated declines are accelerated by age.

Methods: During a 20-year longitudinal study, 6203 participants were quadrennially assessed on the Heim's (Heim, A 1970) The AH4 series of intelligence tests Slough, U.K.