Cognitive Status and Change among IOWA Centenarians

Equivocal evidence exists regarding the degree of cognitive stability and prevalence of cognitive impairment in very late life. The objective of the current study was to examine mental status performance and change over time within a sample of Iowa centenarians. The baseline sample consisted of 152...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of aging & human development 2012-01, Vol.75 (4), p.317-335
Main Authors: Margrett, Jennifer A., Hsieh, Wen-Hua, Heinz, Melinda, Martin, Peter
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult. Elderly
Aged, 80 and over
Biological and medical sciences
Cognition
Cognition Disorders - epidemiology
Cognition Disorders - psychology
Cognitive Ability
Developmental psychology
Error of Measurement
Female
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Humans
Iowa
Iowa - epidemiology
Longitudinal Studies
Male
Neurological Impairments
Older Adults
Prevalence
Program Effectiveness
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Questionnaires
Risk Assessment - methods
Scores
Surveys and Questionnaires
Citations: Items that this one cites
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Summary:Equivocal evidence exists regarding the degree of cognitive stability and prevalence of cognitive impairment in very late life. The objective of the current study was to examine mental status performance and change over time within a sample of Iowa centenarians. The baseline sample consisted of 152 community-dwelling and institutionalized centenarians. Twenty eight of these centenarians participated in the next phase of the study which involved up to four subsequent assessments conducted over a 6-month period. Centenarians' Short Portable Mental Status Questionnaire (SPMSQ; Pfeiffer, 1975) performance indicated that 40% of the baseline sample performed within the normal range while an additional 40% of centenarians' performed within the moderately or severely impaired range. Examination of individual-level change indicated four patterns of short-term longitudinal performance which depicted stability, enhancement, decrement, and variability in scores across the 8-month testing period. The degree of reliable change as assessed by standard error of measurement largely mirrored change as classified by the traditional scoring categories, however, the former approach appeared more sensitive to meaningful intraindividual change in later assessments.
ISSN:0091-4150
1541-3535
DOI:10.2190/AG.75.4.b