Centre for Policy on Ageing



Cognitive and functional decline in adults aged 75 and older
Author(s)	Sandra A Black, Ronald D Rush
Journal title	Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, vol 50, no 12, December 2002
Pages	pp 1978-1986
Keywords	Over 70s ; Ethnic groups ; Cognitive impairment ; Physical disabilities ; Longitudinal surveys ; United States of America.
Annotation	A longitudinal survey of 365 community-dwelling people aged 75+ (128 Hispanic Americans, 112 African Americans and 125 non-Hispanic whites) in Galveston, Texas were assessed for cognitive impairment with a modified version of the Short Portable Mental Status Questionnaire (SPMSQ). Substantial functional decline was found to be associated with each additional error on the mental status measure; substantial cognitive decline was associated with each additional antecedent disability. These findings were evident across all three ethnic groups, even when taking into account the effects of demographic factors and chronic health conditions. Awareness of the specific chronic health conditions that increase the risk for cognitive or functional decline in various ethnic groups, and of the effect of comorbid disease may also help to prevent or delay decline in older people. (RH).
Accession Number	CPA-030122223 A
Classmark	BBK: TK: E4: BN: 3J: 7T
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...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing.