Kaiser Permanente Study of the Oldest Old, 1971-1979 and 1980-1988: [California]

This data collection is an epidemiological study of chronic disease in the oldest old. It is based on information collected from Kaiser Permanente facilities in Northern California. Members of Kaiser Permanente Medical Care programs who were aged 65 or older at the time the data were being collected and who had taken a multiphasic health checkup examination within four to six years of the baseline date were included in the study. There are several components to the dataset. Part 1, Master Records, includes information from the morbidity review, in which over 35 chronic conditions or diagnoses were abstracted from the member charts, as well as detailed diagnostic criteria for the major conditions. A prevalence review was done, which included the four years prior to the baseline date for these same conditions. Recurrent disease is included for the following conditions: cancers, myocardial infarction, and various forms of strokes. A detailed account of outpatient health services use, and data from the multiphasic health checkup, which was administered to each participant during the nine yearly follow-ups, are also included in the Master Records file. Part 2, Hospitalization, contains records of causes and dates of hospitalizations and discharges and nursing home admissions. There is also a section on incomplete reviews and the reasons for them. Demographic information and some lifestyle information from the multiphasic health checkup (e.g., smoking, alcohol, and Body Mass Index) are also in this file.