Longitudinal Cognition-Survival Relations in Old and Very Old Age: 13-Year Data from the Berlin Aging Study
Abstract
We use a statistical model that combines longitudinal and survival analyses to estimate the influence of level and change in cognition on age at death in old and very old individuals. Data are from the Berlin Aging Study, in which an initial sample of 516 elderly individuals with an age range of 70 to 103 years was assessed up to 11 times across a period of up to 13 years. Four cognitive ability domains were assessed by two variables each: perceptual speed (Digit Letter and Identical Pictures), episodic memory (Paired Associates and Memory for Text), fluency (Categories and Word Beginnings), and verbal knowledge (Vocabulary and Spot-a-Word). Longitudinal models on cognition controlled for dementia diagnosis and retest effects, while survival models on age at death controlled for age, sex, socioeconomic status, sensory and motor performance, and broad personality characteristics. Results indicate: (1) Individual differences in the level of and in the linear change in performance are present for all cognitive variables; (2) when analyzed independently of cognitive performance, all covariates, except broad personality factors, predict survival; (3) when cognitive performance is accounted for, age, sex, and motor performance do predict survival, while socioeconomic status and broad personality factors do not, and sensory performance does only at times; (4) when cognitive variables are analyzed independently of each other, both level and change in speed and fluency, as well as lev…
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Individuals who drop out from a longitudinal study often differ from those who stay-they tend to be less healthy, less cognitively fit, and less engaged in stimulating activities-restricting observable variation and potentially biasing estimates of enrichment-cognition relations.
“Individuals who drop out from a longitudinal study often differ from those who stay on dimensions of interest-they tend to be less healthy, less cognitively fit, and less engaged in stimulating activities, thereby restricting the observable range of variation (e.g., Ghisletta, McArdle, & Lindenberger, 2006; Lindenberger, Singer, & Baltes, 2002) and potentially biasing estimates of the rel”
From Enrichment Effects on Adult Cognitive Development: Can the Functional Capacity of Older Adults Be Preserved and Enhanced? (2008) · cites this paper as Ghisletta, McArdle, & Lindenberger, 2006
The overall pattern of cognitive change in the terminal decline models is consistent with other reports of precipitous proximate-to-death declines across various measures of cognitive abilities.
“The overall pattern of cognitive change is consistent with other reports of the precipitous proximate-to-death declines across various measures of cognitive abilities”
From Cohort differences in cognitive aging and terminal decline in the Seattle Longitudinal Study. (2011) · cites this paper as Ghisletta, McArdle, & Lindenberger, 2006
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Hertzog, C., Kramer, A. F., Wilson, R. S., & Lindenberger, U. (2008) · Psychological Science in the Public Interest · doi:10.1111/j.1539-6053.2009.01034.x · Cited by 1,495 · see citing works
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Cohort differences in cognitive aging and terminal decline in the Seattle Longitudinal Study.
Gerstorf, D., Ram, N., Hoppmann, C., Willis, S. L., & Schaie, K. W. (2011) · Developmental Psychology · doi:10.1037/a0023426 · Cited by 154 · see citing works
Ghisletta, P., Rabbitt, P., Lunn, M., & Lindenberger, U. (2012) · Intelligence · doi:10.1016/j.intell.2012.02.008 · Cited by 115 · see citing works
Self-citationThe nature and correlates of self-esteem trajectories in late life.
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- Authors
- Ghisletta, P., McArdle, J. J., & Lindenberger, U.
- Affiliations
- University of Geneva (CH)
- University of Southern California (US)
- Max Planck Institute for Human Development (DE)
- Venue
- European Psychologist
- Publisher
- Hogrefe Publishing Group
- Published
- 2006-01
- Volume
- 11
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 204-223
- ISSN
- 1016-9040 (ISSN-L)
- 1878-531X
- OpenAlex
- W2140711672
- Cited by
- 101
- References
- 5
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 1 · 2019: 4 · 2018: 3 · 2017: 6 · 2016: 4 · 2015: 12 · 2014: 5 · 2013: 7 · 2012: 8
- FWCI
- 9.55
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- European Psychologist (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology › Aging and Gerontology Research
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Research
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Cognitive Abilities and Testing
- Keywords
- cognitive aging, survival, mortality, oldest old, cognitive change, perceptual speed, episodic memory, fluency, verbal knowledge, individual differences, dementia, motor performance, sensory performance, socioeconomic status, personality factors, Berlin Aging Study
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