Long-Term Rate of Change in Memory Functioning Before and After Stroke Onset

Background and Purpose—Memory impairment is a predictor and a consequence of stroke, but memory decline is common even in healthy elderly individuals. We compared the long-term trajectory of memory functioning before and after stroke with memory change in stroke-free elderly individuals.

Methods—Health and Retirement Study participants aged 50 years and older (n=17 340) with no stroke history at baseline were interviewed biennially up to 10 years for first self-reported or proxy-reported stroke (n=1574). Age-, sex-, and race-adjusted segmented linear regression models were used to compare annual rates of change in a composite memory score before and after stroke among 3 groups: 1189 stroke survivors; 385 stroke decedents; and 15 766 cohort members who remained stroke-free. Read more