Recognizing COGA’s potential contribution to understanding older drinking, in 2016 – 2017 the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) funded a pilot study to briefly re-evaluate selected COGA participants who, if still living, would be at least 50 years of age. These individuals were last seen between 1991 and 2004 (at ages 25 to 80), a mean (SD) of 21.6 (3.4) years prior. The pilot study had three objectives: a) to determine the feasibility of locating, recruiting, and evaluating older COGA participants; b) to assess key aspects of living subjects’ current demography, health, and alcohol involvement using a brief telephone interview; and c) to determine the rates and causes of mortality among deceased subjects.
