Year: 2005
Type: article
Abstract: Objectives: To estimate the number of persons in a cohort who are sick, over time.\nMethods: We calculated the number of sick persons in the Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS), a cohort study of older adults followed up to 14 years, using eight definitions of “healthy” and “sick”. We projected the number in each health state over time for a birth cohort.\nResults: The number of sick persons in CHS was approximately constant for 14 years, for all definitions of “sick”. The estimated number of sick persons in the birth cohort was approximately constant from ages 55-75, after which it decreased.\nDiscussion: The relative excess of older persons who are sick in later life is caused by a decline in the number of healthy persons rather than an increase in the number who are sick. Cohort data that include the number of deaths can detect interesting patterns in aging and health.
Authors: Paula Diehr, Ann Derleth, Anne B. Newman, Liming Cai
Language: English
Subfield: Epidemiology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W93613962