A proposal for cooperative longitudinal research of cognitive change

AbstractBetter performance due to repeated testing can bias long-term trajectories of cognitive aging and correlates of change. We examined whether retest effects differ as a function of individual differences pertinent to cognitive aging: race/ethnicity, age, sex, language, years of education, literacy, and dementia risk factors including apolipoprotein E ε4 status, baseline cognitive performance, and cardiovascular risk. We used data from the Washington Heights-Inwood Columbia Aging Project, a community-based cohort of older adults (n=4073). We modeled cognitive change and retest effects in summary factors for general cognitive performance, memory, executive functioning, and language using multilevel models. Retest effects were parameterized in two ways, as improvement between the first and subsequent testings, and as the square root of the number of prior testings. We evaluated whether the retest effect differed by individual characteristics. The mean retest effect for general cognitive performance was 0.60 standard deviations (95% confidence interval [0.46, 0.74]), and was similar for memory, executive functioning, and language. Retest effects were greater for participants in the lowest quartile of cognitive performance (many of whom met criteria for dementia based on a study algorithm), consistent with regression to the mean. Retest did not differ by other characteristics. Retest effects are large in this community-based sample, but do not vary by demographic or dementia-related characteristics. Differential retest effects may not limit the generalizability of inferences across different groups in longitudinal research. (JINS, 2015, 21, 506–518)

Download Full-text

COGNITIVE PERFORMANCE AND COGNITIVE COMPLAINTS WITH ATTITUDES TOWARD AGING IN MIDLIFE AND OLD AGE

Innovation in Aging ◽

10.1093/geroni/igz038.1414 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽

pp. S385-S385

Author(s):

Jelena Siebert ◽

Jelena S Siebert ◽

Tina Braun ◽

Hans-Werner Wahl

Keyword(s):

Cognitive Performance ◽

Old Age ◽

Adult Development ◽

Longitudinal Research ◽

Age Groups ◽

Later Life ◽

Cognitive Change ◽

Cognitive Complaints ◽

Growth Curve Models ◽

Age Cohorts

Abstract Converging longitudinal research suggests that more negative views on aging go along with higher cognitive impairment. In some contrast, although conceptually suggested, possible reciprocal relationships remain less clear empirically. Using 20-year data from the Interdisciplinary Longitudinal Study of Adult Development (ILSE), we aim to better understand developmental co-dynamics between cognitive factors and attitude toward own aging (ATOA). Drawing on 1002 baseline participants (445 at T4) from two age cohorts (midlife: 40 years at baseline; old age: 60 years), longitudinal trajectories between ATOA, performance-based cognitive measures and subjective cognitive complaints are examined. Findings based on multi-group latent growth curve models (a) reveal substantial associations between ATOA and subjective complaints as well as objective cognition in both age groups; (b) confirm previous findings that ATOA predicts cognitive change over 20 years; and (c) find cognitive complaints but not cognitive performance able to predict change in ATOA in later life.

Download Full-text

Attrition in Longitudinal Data is Primarily Selective with Respect to Level Rather than Rate of Change

Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society ◽

10.1017/s135561771900016x ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 25 (6) ◽

pp. 618-623

Author(s):

Timothy A. Salthouse

Keyword(s):

Young Adults ◽

Longitudinal Data ◽

Cognitive Functioning ◽

Cognitive Performance ◽

Longitudinal Research ◽

Cognitive Change ◽

Rate Of Change ◽

Longitudinal Change ◽

Similar Magnitude ◽

Cognitive Domains

AbstractObjectives: An important question in longitudinal research is whether the individuals who discontinue participation differ in their level of, or their change in, cognitive functioning relative to individuals who return for subsequent occasions. Methods: Performance in five cognitive domains was examined in nearly 5000 participants between 18 and 85 years of age who completed between one and five longitudinal occasions. Results: Little or no differences in cognitive performance were apparent between young adults who did or did not return for subsequent longitudinal occasions. However, among adults above about 45 years of age, returning participants had higher levels of cognitive performance, but approximately similar magnitude of longitudinal change, as participants completing fewer occasions. Conclusions: These results suggest that generalizability of longitudinal comparisons may be restricted to individuals with relatively high levels of cognitive functioning, but that rates of cognitive change are nearly comparable for individuals completing different numbers of longitudinal occasions.

Download Full-text

Issues of Capacity and Decision-Making in the Context of Delirium

Perspectives on Swallowing and Swallowing Disorders (Dysphagia) ◽

10.1044/sasd24.4.140 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 24 (4) ◽

pp. 140-145

Author(s):

Kevin R. Patterson

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Patient Autonomy ◽

Care Setting ◽

Cognitive Change ◽

Treatment Team ◽

Precipitating Factors ◽

Term Care ◽

Decision Making Capacity ◽

Fundamental Consideration

Decision-making capacity is a fundamental consideration in working with patients in a clinical setting. One of the most common conditions affecting decision-making capacity in patients in the inpatient or long-term care setting is a form of acute, transient cognitive change known as delirium. A thorough understanding of delirium — how it can present, its predisposing and precipitating factors, and how it can be managed — will improve a speech-language pathologist's (SLPs) ability to make treatment recommendations, and to advise the treatment team on issues related to communication and patient autonomy.

Download Full-text