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The longest research project on aging , sponsored by the National Institute on Health, the Baltimore Longitudinal Study, helps scientist piece together a more accurate perspective. Before the study, scientists compared surveyors in one age group to a contrasting set of individuals in another age group. Most of the differences between them are not attributed to age but the result of life experiences, genetics, or environmental factors.What the Baltimore Longitudinal Study did instead, was to compare two individuals, one who lived through two wars and the other raised in a peaceful and prosperous society. How each aged might differ but the effect of age alone would be difficult to sort out. By looking at the same individuals over time, external influences are reduced. Longitudinal research allows scientists to gather thousands of case studies of human aging.The researchers measured physical and cognitive changes in real-time among a dedicated group of participants. They were tested at regular intervals over the course of their lives. The individuals 60 and under are assessed every 4 years. The older age brackets (60 to 79) tested every 2 years, and those over 80, annually.The assessment included a complete health, cognitive, and functional work up. The study aimed to determine characterizing normal and exceptional aging, along with age-related health issues, such as frailty.