Table 1.
Participant Attrition and Mortality Status for Each Measurement Wave
| Attrition status | Wave of testing |
|||||
| Wave 1 | Wave 2 | Wave 3 | Wave 4 | Wave 5 | Wave 6 | |
| Sample 1 (year tested) | 1986 | 1989 | 1992 | 1995 | 1998 | 2002 |
| Returned | 484 (100) | 333 (68.8) | 249 (74.8) | 177 (71.1) | 120 (67.8) | |
| Dropped out | ||||||
| Personal health | 10 (2.1) | 15 (4.5) | 9 (3.6) | 12 (6.8) | ||
| Family health | 6 (1.2) | 1 (0.3) | 3 (1.2) | 7 (3.9) | ||
| Memory problems | 2 (0.4) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 1 (0.6) | ||
| Busy/not interested | 48 (9.9) | 15 (4.5) | 15 (6.0) | 7 (3.9) | ||
| Moved | 9 (1.9) | 8 (2.4) | 2 (0.8) | 3 (1.7) | ||
| Could not be located | 4 (0.8) | 7 (2.1) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | ||
| Deceased | 72 (14.9) | 38 (11.4) | 43 (17.3) | 18 (10.2) | 9 (5.1a) | |
| Sample 2 (year tested) | 1992 | 1996 | 1999 | 2002 | ||
| Returned | 530 (100) | 410 (77.3) | 327 (79.7) | |||
| Dropped out | ||||||
| Personal health | 12 (2.3) | 18 (4.4) | ||||
| Family health | 2 (0.4) | 4 (1.0) | ||||
| Memory problems | 0 (0.0) | 3 (0.7) | ||||
| Busy/not interested | 34 (6.4) | 13 (3.2) | ||||
| Moved | 12 (2.3) | 3 (0.7) | ||||
| Could not be located | 11 (2.1) | 6 (1.5) | ||||
| Deceased | 49 (9.2) | 30 (7.3) | 6 (1.5a) | |||
Notes: Values in parentheses reflect percentage of participants associated with a particular category. Column totals per sample may not sum to 100% due to rounding error.
a
As of the most recent search of vital statistics records, these participants were confirmed deceased prior to follow-up testing.