@article {6796,
	title = {Another Look at Aggregate Changes in Severe Cognitive Impairment: Further investigation into the cumulative effects of three survey design issues},
	journal = {The Journals of Gerontology Series B},
	volume = {57},
	year = {2002},
	pages = {S126-31},
	publisher = {57B},
	abstract = {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.},
	keywords = {Demographics, Health Conditions and Status, Healthcare, Methodology, Other},
	doi = {https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/57.2.S126},
	author = {Vicki A Freedman and Aykan, Hakan and Linda G Martin}
}
