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Objective: This study examines the potential effects of nativity and acculturation on active life expectancy (ALE) among Mexican-origin elders., Method: We employ 17 years of data from the Hispanic Established Population for the Epidemiologic Study of the Elderly to calculate ALE at age 65 with and without disabilities., Results: Native-born males and foreign-born females spend a larger fraction of their elderly years with activities of daily living (ADL) disability. Conversely, both foreign-born males and females spend a larger fraction of their remaining years with instrumental activities of daily life (IADL) disability than the native-born. In descriptive analysis, women with low acculturation report higher ADL and IADL disability. Men manifest similar patterns for IADLs., Discussion: Although foreign-born elders live slightly longer lives, they do so with more years spent in a disabled state. Given the rapid aging of the Mexican-origin population, the prevention and treatment of disabilities, particularly among the foreign born, should be a major public health priority., (© The Author(s) 2015.)

Objective: In this article, we investigate the association between age at migration and mortality during a 13-year period in a sample of Mexican American immigrants 65 and older at baseline., Method: We employ the Hispanic Established Populations for Epidemiologic Studies of the Elderly (H-PESE) to control for mortality-related health and social factors., Results: Our analyses show that the immigrant generation does not represent a homogeneous mortality risk category. Individuals who migrated to the United States in mature adulthood have a considerably lower risk of death than individuals who migrated in childhood or midlife. Chronic conditions or functional capacity do not account for these differences., Conclusion: Our findings suggest that standard risk pools may differ significantly on the basis of genetic and unmeasured life-course factors. A better understanding of the late-life immigrant mortality advantage has important implications for more effective and targeted social and medical interventions.

Objective: This study compares various dimensions of physical and emotional health between older Mexican-origin individuals in the United States and in Mexico., Method: The samples are drawn from the Mexican Health and Aging Study (MHAS) and the Hispanic Established Epidemiologic Study of the Elderly (H-EPESE) and include 3,875 Mexican residents with no history of residence in the United States and 2,734 Mexican-origin individuals 65 and older who live in the southwestern United States., Results: Both immigrant and native-born Mexican-origin elders in the United States report more chronic conditions than elderly Mexicans, but they report fewer symptoms of psychological distress. Longer residence in the United States is associated with higher body mass index scores., Discussion: The discussion addresses the possibility that access to care influences reports of diagnosed conditions and touches on issues of comparability in cross-cultural research and the difficulty in clearly distinguishing cultural and system-level factors in the production and measurement of health.

Objectives: This article examines the impact of disability, cognitive status, and social support on nursing home use in a sample of older Mexican Americans., Method: We used four waves of the Hispanic Established Populations for Epidemiologic Studies of the Elderly (H-EPESE), a longitudinal study of 3,050 older Mexican Americans living in the Southwest initially contacted in 1993 to 1994., Results: The findings reveal that advanced age, being a man, activities of daily living disability, and cognitive impairment are strong predictors of institutionalization and death. Living with family, arriving in the United States in late life, and access to social support independently decreased the probability of dying in a nursing home., Discussion: Although it is clear that adequate social support can make it possible for an impaired older person to remain in the community serious impairment can eventually overwhelm even a supportive network and result in the institutionalization of an impaired older person.

This study employs data from the 1988 National Survey of Hispanic Elderly People to examine the impact of age at migration and social contacts on the self-assessed health, functional disability, and life satisfaction of elderly Cuban Americans, Mexican Americans, and Puerto Ricans in the United States. The results indicate that the difficulties associated with immigration late in life undermine an older person's morale and interfere with the ability to perform basic activities of daily living. Although children are important sources of social support for all Hispanic groups, our findings also reveal important group differences in the use of other community social resources and their impact on health. Older Cuban Americans, in particular, appear to benefit from residence in ethnic enclaves in which they have largely duplicated their culture of origin.