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. 2021 Jul;2(7):e407–e416. doi: 10.1016/S2666-7568(21)00117-3

Table 4.

Predictive performance of seven cognitive impairment definitions for mortality

Deaths/participants Death rate per 1000 person-years Mean years of follow-up (SD) HR (95% CI) R2 (95% CI) AIC Δ AIC Sensitivity Specificity C-statistic (95% CI) p value for difference in C-statistic
Definition 1 (ref) Demographic model (ref)
Cognitive impairment definitions
Definition 1
No cognitive impairment 508/4866 9·8 10·6 (1·8) 1 (ref) 0·027 (0·011–0·050) 11058·3 0 (ref) 22·1% 86·5% 0·540 (0·524–0·556) NA <0·0001
Cognitive impairment 141/821 16·7 10·3 (2·2) 1·71 (1·42–2·06) .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..
Definition 2
No cognitive impairment 400/4202 8·9 10·7 (1·7) 1 (ref) 0·050 (0·026–0·080) 11 033·2 −25·1 38·4% 75·5% 0·566 (0·547–0·585) 0·024 <0·0001
Cognitive impairment 249/1485 16·3 10·3 (2·1) 1·84 (1·57–2·16) .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..
Definition 3
No cognitive impairment 572/5349 10·1 10·6 (1·8) 1 (ref) 0·036 (0·015–0·066) 11 048·4 −9·9 12·2% 94·9% 0·533 (0·520–0·545) 0·21 <0·0001
Cognitive impairment 77/338 22·9 9·9 (2·5) 2·31 (1·82–2·93) .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..
Definition 4
No cognitive impairment 505/4850 9·8 10·6 (1·8) 1 (ref) 0·028 (0·010–0·052) 11 057·4 −0·9 22·7% 86·3% 0·542 (0·526–0·557) 0·79 <·0001
Cognitive impairment 144/837 16·7 10·3 (2·2) 1·71 (1·43–2·07) .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..
Definition 5
No cognitive impairment 569/5340 10·1 10·6 (1·8) 1 (ref) 0·038 (0·016–0·067) 11 045·8 −12·5 12·7% 94·7% 0·534 (0·522–0·547) 0·36 <0·0001
Cognitive impairment 80/347 23·2 10·0 (2·5) 2·35 (1·86–2·96) .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..
Definition 6
No cognitive impairment 514/4861 10·0 10·6 (1·8) 1 (ref) 0·020 (0·518–0·549) 11 065·7 7·4 21·0% 86·3% 0·534 (0·518–0·549) 0·29 <0·0001
Cognitive impairment 135/826 15·8 10·3 (2·2) 1·60 (1·32–1·93) .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..
Definition 7
No cognitive impairment 569/5333 10·1 10·6 (1·8) 1 (ref) 0·037 (0·016–0·065) 11 047·8 −10·5 12·7% 94·6% 0·534 (0·521–0·546) 0·35 <0·0001
Cognitive impairment 80/354 22·7 10·0 (2·5) 2·29 (1·81–2·90) .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..
Demographic model
Age, sex, and education 649/5687 NA NA NA 0·322 (0·267–0·385) 10 718·0 −340·3 64·8% 71·5% 0·708 (0·688–0·729) <0·0001 NA

The definitions of cognitive impairment are as follows: (1) age and sex threshold for poor cognitive performance; (2) cognitive decline; (3) age and sex threshold for poor cognitive performance plus cognitive decline; (4) age, sex, and education threshold for poor cognitive performance; (5) age, sex, and education threshold for poor cognitive performance plus cognitive decline; (6) age, sex, and occupation threshold for poor cognitive performance; and (7) age, sex, and occupation threshold for poor cognitive performance plus cognitive decline. HR=hazard ratio. AIC=Akaike information criterion. NA=not applicable.