METHODS TO CONSTRUCT AND ANALYZE COGNITIVE FUNCTION TRAJECTORIES USING CLAIMS AND ASSESSMENT DATA
2024

Analyzing Cognitive Function Changes in Medicare Beneficiaries

Sample size: 2000000 publication Evidence: moderate

Author Information

Author(s): Jarrín Olga, Lin Haiqun

Primary Institution: Oxford University Press US

Hypothesis

How does cognitive function change over the last five years of life among Medicare beneficiaries?

Conclusion

The study reveals ten distinct cognitive function trajectory groups among Medicare beneficiaries in their last five years of life.

Supporting Evidence

  • The study harmonized cognitive function data into four categories: no impairment, memory loss, mild cognitive impairment, and dementia.
  • Machine learning algorithms were used to predict cognitive function trajectory class clusters.
  • The research included nearly two million Medicare beneficiaries to analyze cognitive function trajectories.

Takeaway

This study looks at how people's thinking skills change as they get older, especially in the last years of their life.

Methodology

Data from healthcare claims and clinical assessments were harmonized and analyzed using group-based trajectory models.

Participant Demographics

Medicare beneficiaries who died in 2019, age 50 or older at death.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.1093/geroni/igae098.2180

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