Another Look at Aggregate Changes in Severe Cognitive Impairment: Further investigation into the cumulative effects of three survey design issues

OBJECTIVES: This study explored whether previously reported declines in severe cognitive impairment were robust to cumulative effects of potentially confounding survey design issues. METHODS: Using the 1993 Asset and Health Dynamics of the Oldest Old study (n = 7,443) and 1998 Health and Retirement Survey (HRS; n = 7,624) the proportion of persons ages 70 and older with severe cognitive impairment was calculated under various assumptions about item nonresponse, differential loss to follow-up, and the size and composition of the nursing home population. Impairment was measured for self-respondents using a modified version of the Telephone Interview Cognitive Screen; for proxy respondents ratings of memory and judgment were used. Chi-square tests were adjusted to account for complex survey designs. RESULTS: Ignoring loss to follow-up, excluding nursing home residents, and assigning a low score to those refusing subscales yielded a statistically significant decline in severe cognitive impairment from 5.8 in 1993 to 3.8 in 1998, or an average annual decline of 6.9 . When cumulative effects of survey design issues were considered and design effects incorporated into statistical tests, statistically significant declines persisted, albeit at a reduced average annual rate, ranging from 2.5 to 6.9 per year. DISCUSSION: Previously reported improvements in severe cognitive impairment appear to be robust to a variety of specifications. Replication with future waves of the HRS and other data is warranted.

Age Distribution/Aged, 80 and Over/Chi Square Distribution/Cognition Disorders/Classification/Diagnosis/Epidemiology/Confounding Factors (Epidemiology)/Follow up Studies/Geriatric Assessment/Health Surveys/Human/Mass Screening/Methods/Standards/Middle Age/Population Surveillance/Questionnaires/Standards/Research Design/Standards/Severity of Illness Index/Support, Non U.S. Government/Support, U.S. Government--PHS/United States/Epidemiology

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