ROLE OF AGE, EDUCATION, AND GENDER ON COGNITIVE PERFORMANCE IN THE FRAMINGHAM HEART-STUDY - COMMUNITY-BASED NORMS

Normative data are presented for a neuropsychological test battery (Ka plan-Albert) consisting of subtests from the original Wechsler Adult I ntelligence and Memory Scales and the Benton and Hamsher Aphasia Exami nation. Analyses were based an archival data resulting from administra tion (1976-1978) of the battery to community residents participating i n the Framingham Heart Study, a prospective, longitudinal study of car diovascular risk factors. Using 3 age groups (55-64, 65-74, and 75-88 years) and 4 education levels (5-8, 9-11, 12, > 12 years), individuals were stratified by age, gender, and education. Multiple linear regres sion analysis was used to relate main effects (age, education, and gen der) and interactions of these effects to 9 test scores and to 2 compo site scores identified by factor analysis. The oldest participants who had the fewest years of formal education had the lowest performance l evels, with lower levels of performance for men than women in this lea st educated elderly cohort.