The Aging, Demographics, and Memory Study: Study Design and Methods

Vol. 25, No. 4, 2005

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Original Paper

The Aging, Demographics, and Memory Study: Study Design and Methods
Kenneth M. Langa^a-c, Brenda L. Plassman^e, Robert B. Wallace^g, A. Regula Herzog^c,†, Steven G. Heeringa^c, Mary Beth Ofstedal^c, James R. Burke^f, Gwenith G. Fisher^c, Nancy H. Fultz^d, Michael D. Hurd^h, Guy G. Potter^e, Willard L. Rodgers^c, David C. Steffens^e, David R. Weir^c, Robert J. Willis^c

^aDivision of General Medicine, Department of Medicine,
^bVeterans Affairs Center for Practice Management and Outcomes Research,
^cInstitute for Social Research,
^dInstitute for Research on Women and Gender, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mich.,
^eDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences,
^fDepartment of Medicine (Neurology), Duke University Medical Center, Durham, N.C.,
^gColleges of Public Health and Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, and
^hRAND, Santa Monica, Calif., USA

Address of Corresponding Author

Neuroepidemiology 2005;25:181-191 (DOI: 10.1159/000087448)

Key Words

Dementia
Aging
Epidemiologic studies
Population-based studies

Abstract

Objective: We describe the design and methods of the Aging, Demographics, and Memory Study (ADAMS), a new national study that will provide data on the antecedents, prevalence, outcomes, and costs of dementia and 'cognitive impairment, not demented' (CIND) using a unique study design based on the nationally representative Health and Retirement Study (HRS). We also illustrate potential uses of the ADAMS data and provide information to interested researchers on obtaining ADAMS and HRS data. Methods: The ADAMS is the first population-based study of dementia in the United States to include subjects from all regions of the country, while at the same time using a single standardized diagnostic protocol in a community-based sample. A sample of 856 individuals age 70 or older who were participants in the ongoing HRS received an extensive in-home clinical and neuropsychological assessment to determine a diagnosis of normal, CIND, or dementia. Within the CIND and dementia categories, subcategories (e.g. Alzheimer's disease, vascular dementia) were assigned to denote the etiology of cognitive impairment. Conclusion: Linking the ADAMS dementia clinical assessment data to the wealth of available longitudinal HRS data on health, health care utilization, informal care, and economic resources and behavior, will provide a unique opportunity to study the onset of CIND and dementia in a nationally representative population-based sample, as well as the risk factors, prevalence, outcomes, and costs of CIND and dementia.

Author Contacts

Kenneth M. Langa, MD, PhD
Division of General Medicine, University of Michigan Health System
300 North Ingalls Building, Room 7E01, Box 0429
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-0429 (USA)
Tel. +1 734 615 8341, Fax +1 734 936 8944, E-Mail klanga@umich.edu

Article Information

Published online: August 15, 2005
Number of Print Pages : 11
Number of Figures : 4, Number of Tables : 0, Number of References : 38

Medline Abstract (ID 16103729)

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