Attrition in a 30-year follow-up of a perinatal birth risk cohort: factors change with age.

ABSTRACT: Background. Attrition is a major cause of potential bias in longitudinal studies and clinical trials. Attrition rate above 20% raises concern of the reliability of the results. Few studies have looked at the factors behind attrition in follow-ups spanning decades. Methods. We analyzed attrition and associated factors of a 30-year follow-up cohort of subjects who were born with perinatal risks for neurodevelopmental disorders. Attrition rates were calculated at different stages of follow-up and differences between responders and non-responders were tested. To find combinations of variables influencing attrition and investigate their relative importance at birth, 5, 9, 16 and 30 years of follow-up we used the random forest classification. Results. Initial loss of potential participants was 1

SUBMITTER: Launes J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4103077 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature