Description & Citation--Study No. 3960

Bibliographic Description
Scope of Study
Methodology
Access and Availability

Bibliographic Description

ICPSR Study No.:

3960

Persistent URL:

http://dx.doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR03960

Title:

Danish 1905 Cohort Study, 1998

Principal Investigator(s):

Kaare Christensen, University of Southern Denmark. Institute of Public Health and Duke University

James W. Vaupel, Duke University

Funding Agency:

Danish National Research Foundation

United States Department of Health and Human Services. National Institutes of Health. National Institute on Aging

Grant Number:

J.nr.507-102

PO1AG08761

Bibliographic Citation:

Christensen, Kaare, and James W. Vaupel. DANISH 1905 COHORT STUDY, 1998 [Computer file]. ICPSR03960-v1. Denmark: Kaare Christensen, University of Southern Denmark/Durham, NC: James W. Vaupel, Duke University [producers], 2004. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2008-02-11.

Scope of Study

Summary:

This data collection provides information on individuals born in Denmark in 1905 and who were still living in Denmark in 1998. The overall goal of the study was to establish a genetic-epidemiological database to shed light on the aging process among the extremely old. The data focus on their physical and cognitive functioning. Respondents were asked if they had been previously diagnosed with diseases such as diabetes, arthritis, asthma, migraine, cancer, stroke, heart attack, or depression, and if they were experiencing such ailments as cough, body pains, and bone fracture and were taking medication for them. Questions probed respondents' feelings about their health, life, and future. To assess respondents' general health and functioning, they were asked if they needed assistance with toileting, bathing, dressing, and mobility around the house, how often they needed to use the bathroom during the night, and if they used physical aids such as wheelchair, eyeglasses, crutches, catheter, or diapers. They were also tested for memory and cognition, mobility, and vision, speech, hearing, and lung functioning. Information was also elicited on respondents' mental state and awareness, energy level, menopause, frequency of visits with children and family, visits from a nurse, use of home care services, sleeping patterns, smoking and drinking habits, weight gain or loss, exercise, social activities, hobbies, reading habits, television viewing, and recent deaths in the family. Demographic items specify age, body weight and height, education, and marital status.

Subject Term(s):

activities of daily living, aging, assisted living, assistive devices, cognitive functioning, disease, eldercare, health services utilization, health status, home care, mental health, older adults, physical fitness, physical limitations, social networks

Geographic Coverage:

Denmark, Global

Time Period:

1905 - 1998

Date(s) of Collection:

1998

Unit of Observation:

individual

Universe:

All individuals born in Denmark in 1905, excluding the Faroe Islands and Greenland, and who were still living in Denmark in 1998.

Data Type:

survey data

Methodology

Sample:

A total of 2,262 persons born in Denmark in 1905. In cases where the individual was cognitively or physically impaired a proxy answered the questions. A home-based two-hour multidimensional interview, including cognitive and physical performance tests and collection of DNA, was carried out by lay interviewers. Population-based registers were used to evaluate how representative the sample was of the population. The participants were located through the Danish Central Office of Civil Registration.

Mode of Data Collection:

face-to-face interview

Response Rates:

63 percent

Access and Availability

Note:

A list of the data formats available for this study can be found in the summary of holdings. Detailed file-level information (such as record length, case count, and variable count) is listed in the file manifest.

Restrictions:

The data are restricted from general dissemination. Users interested in obtaining these data must complete a Restricted Data Use Agreement form and specify the reasons for the request. A copy of the Restricted Data Use Agreement form can be requested by calling 800-999-0960. Researchers can also download this form as a Portable Document Format (PDF) file from the download page associated with this dataset. Completed forms should be returned to: National Archive of Computerized Data on Aging (NACDA), Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research, Institute for Social Research, 330 Packard, Ann Arbor, MI 48104, or by fax: 734-647-8200.

Original ICPSR Release:

2005-12-06

Version History:

The last update of this study occurred on 2008-02-11.

2008-02-11 - Minor edits were made to the metadata.