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The S wedish physical activity and fitness cohort born in 1958 – dropout analysis and overview at 36‐year follow‐up
Author(s) -
Aasa U.,
Lundell S.,
BarnekowBergkvist M.,
Jansson E.,
Westerståhl M.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
scandinavian journal of medicine and science in sports
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.575
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1600-0838
pISSN - 0905-7188
DOI - 10.1111/sms.12665
Subject(s) - dropout (neural networks) , psychology , cohort , physical fitness , population , cohort study , developmental psychology , demography , gerontology , physical activity , longitudinal study , aerobic exercise , clinical psychology , physical therapy , medicine , pathology , machine learning , sociology , computer science
The main aim of the Swedish physical activity and fitness cohort study ( SPAF ‐1958) was to describe physical fitness, physical activity, health, and lifestyle across part of the lifespan, and to assess the influences on these factors from the environment, personal factors, and genetics. There is inevitable dropout from longitudinal studies, and it may be systematic. The aim of this first paper of the second follow‐up of SPAF ‐1958 was to provide a dropout analysis to consider to what extent the participants, at 52 years of age, remain a representative sample of the original adolescent study population. Additional aims were to provide an overview of the study protocol and the ongoing study population. Ongoing study participants in SPAF born in 1958 were, at the second follow‐up at the age of 52, still representative of the study cohort in terms of sex, adolescent geographical area, upper secondary school program, adolescent body composition, muscular strength, and muscular endurance. However, a higher physical activity and, among women, a higher aerobic capacity in adolescence decreased the risk for dropout. It is important when interpreting results from longitudinal studies to adjust for the systematic dropout that could bias the conclusions drawn from the results.