title: The terminal drop hypothesis: fact or artifact?
abstract: Findings from eight longitudinal investigations were reviewed in order to evaluate the terminal drop hypothesis. The concept of terminal drop was seen to be more useful when partitioned into its component parts: the relationship between the level of cognitive performance with survival and with distance from death, and the relationship between changes in cognitive performance and death. Health status and age at death emerged as important intervening variables in understanding the terminal drop concept.
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging; D003643:Death; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007360:Intelligence; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008954:Models, Biological; D011247:Pregnancy; D013997:Time Factors; D014427:Twins