[Longitudinal study of the functional capacity of aged persons in Upper Normandy, 1978-1985]

A longitudinal study of 1,082 elderly persons was conducted by INSERM over a six-year period in order to identify risk factor in pathological ageing. Several functional capacities were selected for study on the basis of their relevance to independent daily living. This article describes the methodology and the extent to which research objectives were able to be fulfilled. The initial survey took place in 1978-79. A follow-up study targeted two distinct areas of interest: the monitoring of mortality rates and the re-evaluation of the performance of survivors at three and six year intervals. Re-evaluation of performance involved the exploration of the individual's mobility, capacity to carry out activities of daily living etc. The consistency of the entire data set assembled over the six-year period was assessed in various ways. At six year follow-up survival rate could be determined for 98.8% of the initial cohort, and 87.1% of the survivors were able to be reinterviewed. The different probabilities of healthy survival, by sex and age, are tabulated in the appendices.