Correlated and Coupled Cognitive Change in Older Adults with and without Preclinical Dementia

Martin J. Sliwinski, Scott M. Hofer, Charles Hall

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

69 Scopus citations

Abstract

Common factor aging theories state that correlations among cognitive age effects signify a single underlying causal process. The logic underlying this proposition was evaluated by examining correlated cognitive change in a sample of 391 initially nondemented older adults who were tested annually for up to 16 years. Between-person correlations among rates of change (range = .56-.61) were partly attributable to model misspecification and the aggregation of heterogeneous groups of individuals. Correlated within-person cognitive change was much stronger in the cases (.45-.51) than in the noncases (.07-.18). These results demonstrate that correlated change may either signify causal commonality or the cumulative effects of multiple age-related conditions that can affect multiple cognitive systems.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)672-683
Number of pages12
JournalPsychology and aging
Volume18
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 2003

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Social Psychology
  • Aging
  • Geriatrics and Gerontology

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