Comparing Lookback Periods to Ascertain Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias
Zachary J. Kunicki, Thomas Bayer, Lan Jiang, Melanie L. Bozzay, McKenzie J. Quinn, Alyssa N. De Vito, Sheina Emrani, Sebhat Erqou, John E. McGeary, Andrew R. Zullo, Matthew S. Duprey, Mriganka Singh, Jennifer M. Primack, Catherine M. Kelso, Wen-Chih Wu, James L. Rudolph- Psychiatry and Mental health
- Geriatrics and Gerontology
- Clinical Psychology
- General Neuroscience
Claims data are a valuable resource for studying Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD). Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias is often identified using a list of claims codes and a fixed lookback period of 3 years of data. However, a 1-year lookback or an approach using all-available lookback data could be beneficial based on different research questions. Thus, the purpose of this study was to compare 1-year and all-available lookback approaches to ascertaining ADRD compared to the standard 3-year approach. Using a cohort of Veterans hospitalized for heart failure (N = 373, 897), our results suggested high agreement (93% or greater) between the lookback periods. The 1-year lookback period had lower sensitivity (60%) and underestimated the prevalence of ADRD. These results suggest that 1-year and all-available lookback periods are viable approaches when using claims data.