National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) ­ Longitudinal Study of Aging, 70 , 1984-2000

DESCRIPTION : The Longitudinal Studies of Aging (LSOAs) is a collaborative project of the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) and the National Institute on Aging (NIA). It is a mulitcohort study of persons 70 years of age and over designed primarily to measure changes in the health, functional status, living arrangements, and health services utilization of two cohorts of Americans as they move into and through the oldest ages. The project is comprised of four surveys: 1) the 1984 Supplement on Aging (SOA); 2) the 1984-1990 Longitudinal Study of Aging (LSOA); 3) the 1994 Second Supplement on Aging (SOA II) and; 4) the 1994-2000 Second Longitudinal Study of Aging (LSOA II).

The 1984-1990 LSOA is a prospective study with a nationally representative sample comprised of 7,527 civilian noninstitutionalized persons 70 years of age and over. The 1984 Supplement on Aging served as the baseline for the study. The LSOA followed this cohort of older persons through three follow-up interviews, conducted in 1986, 1998, and 1990. Baseline interviews were conducted in person and subsequent interviews were administered using Computer Assisted Telephone Interviews (CATI).

CODEBOOKS: A codebook, containing all waves of data, is available on the local area network (T:\Public\Data\LSOA). The codebook contains additional information about sampling and the data sets, and includes the questionnaires used in each wave.

DATA: The LSOA data file contains information collected from multiple sources: the 1984 NHIS, the 1984 Health Insurance Supplement, the 1984 baseline SOA and all three follow-up interviews. It also contains data from Medicare claims records, the National Death Index, and multiple cause of death files. The 1984-1990 LSOA data are available from the CFDR office, from ICPSR (www.icspr.umich.edu ), or you can request a CD-ROM from the National Center for Health Statistics. Both SAS and SPSS input statements are available.

LIST OF FREQUENCIES : The codebook does not provide variable frequencies. However, the ICPSR online analysis system allows you to run both simple and complex analyses, recode and compute new variables, and subset variables or cases for downloading. This feature is accessible through the ICPSR website (by searching for the study and selecting 'online analysis').

WEBLINKS: Additional information about the study is available at the NCHS website and fromICPSR.

UPCOMING RELEASES: The 1984-1990 LSOA is complete. The Second Longitudinal Survey was conducted between 1994 and 2000 with improvements and enhancements reflecting the methodological and conceptual developments that have occurred since the original LSOA.