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Cohort changes in cognitive function among Danish centenarians. A comparative study of 2 birth cohorts born in 1895 and 1905.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND/AIM:The objective was to examine cohort changes in cognitive function in 2 cohorts of centenarians born 10 years apart. METHODS:The Longitudinal Study of Danish Centenarians comprises all Danes reaching the age of 100 in the period April 1, 1995 through May 31, 1996. A total of 207 out of 276 persons participated (75%). The Danish 1905 Cohort Survey includes all individuals born in 1905. In total, 225 out of 364 persons who reached the age of 100 in the cohort participated in the most recent 2005 follow-up (62%). In both cohorts, cognitive function was assessed using the Mini-Mental State Examination. RESULTS:There were no significant differences in cognitive score between the two centenarian birth cohorts. However, modest tendencies were seen towards better cognitive functioning for the centenarians in the 1905 cohort living at home compared to the home-dwelling ones in the 1895 cohort and worse cognitive performance for the centenarians in the 1905 group living in nursing homes compared to the nursing home dwellers in the 1895 cohort. CONCLUSION:The increasing number of centenarians may not entail larger proportions of cognitively impaired individuals in this extreme age group.

SUBMITTER: Engberg H

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2731155 | biostudies-literature | 2008

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Cohort changes in cognitive function among Danish centenarians. A comparative study of 2 birth cohorts born in 1895 and 1905.

Engberg Henriette H Christensen Kaare K Andersen-Ranberg Karen K Jeune Bernard B

Dementia and geriatric cognitive disorders 20080805 2

<h4>Background/aim</h4>The objective was to examine cohort changes in cognitive function in 2 cohorts of centenarians born 10 years apart.<h4>Methods</h4>The Longitudinal Study of Danish Centenarians comprises all Danes reaching the age of 100 in the period April 1, 1995 through May 31, 1996. A total of 207 out of 276 persons participated (75%). The Danish 1905 Cohort Survey includes all individuals born in 1905. In total, 225 out of 364 persons who reached the age of 100 in the cohort participa ...[more]

PMID: 18679030

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Project description:BackgroundA rapidly increasing proportion of people in high-income countries are surviving into their tenth decade. Concern is widespread that the basis for this development is the survival of frail and disabled elderly people into very old age. To investigate this issue, we compared the cognitive and physical functioning of two cohorts of Danish nonagenarians, born 10 years apart.MethodsPeople in the first cohort were born in 1905 and assessed at age 93 years (n=2262); those in the second cohort were born in 1915 and assessed at age 95 years (n=1584). All cohort members were eligible irrespective of type of residence. Both cohorts were assessed by surveys that used the same design and assessment instrument, and had almost identical response rates (63%). Cognitive functioning was assessed by mini-mental state examination and a composite of five cognitive tests that are sensitive to age-related changes. Physical functioning was assessed by an activities of daily living score and by physical performance tests (grip strength, chair stand, and gait speed).FindingsThe chance of surviving from birth to age 93 years was 28% higher in the 1915 cohort than in the 1905 cohort (6·50% vs 5·06%), and the chance of reaching 95 years was 32% higher in 1915 cohort (3·93% vs 2·98%). The 1915 cohort scored significantly better on the mini-mental state examination than did the 1905 cohort (22·8 [SD 5·6] vs 21·4 [6·0]; p<0·0001), with a substantially higher proportion of participants obtaining maximum scores (28-30 points; 277 [23%] vs 235 [13%]; p<0·0001). Similarly, the cognitive composite score was significantly better in the 1915 than in the 1905 cohort (0·49 [SD 3·6] vs 0·01 [SD 3·6]; p=0·0003). The cohorts did not differ consistently in the physical performance tests, but the 1915 cohort had significantly better activities of daily living scores than did the 1905 cohort (2·0 [SD 0·8] vs 1·8 [0·7]; p<0·0001).InterpretationDespite being 2 years older at assessment, the 1915 cohort scored significantly better than the 1905 cohort on both the cognitive tests and the activities of daily living score, which suggests that more people are living to older ages with better overall functioning.FundingDanish National Research Foundation; US National Institutes of Health-National Institute on Aging; Danish Agency for Science, Technology and Innovation; VELUX Foundation.

Dataset Information

Cohort changes in cognitive function among Danish centenarians. A comparative study of 2 birth cohorts born in 1895 and 1905.

Publications

Cohort changes in cognitive function among Danish centenarians. A comparative study of 2 birth cohorts born in 1895 and 1905.

Similar Datasets

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