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Background: Cognitive decline and dementia are associated with disability and premature death in old age. We examined whether low handgrip strength predicts subsequent cognitive decline in older Mexican Americans., Methods: We worked with a 7-year prospective cohort of 2160 noninstitutionalized Mexican Americans aged 65 years or older from the Hispanic Established Population for the Epidemiological Study of the Elderly (H-EPESE) who had a Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score > or = 21 at baseline. Measures included: (i) sociodemographic factors (age, gender, and education), handgrip strength, and near and distant visual impairment from baseline interview; and (ii) MMSE, body mass index (BMI), and medical conditions (stroke, heart attack, diabetes, depression, and hypertension) from four waves of data collection., Results: Using general linear mixed models, we found a significant trend with scores in the lowest quartile of handgrip strength at baseline to be associated with lower MMSE scores over time (estimate = -1.28, standard error = 0.16; p <.0001). There was a significant handgrip Strength-by-Time interaction with MMSE scores. Participants in the lowest handgrip strength quartile had a greater cognitive decline over time (estimate = -0.26, standard error = 0.07; p <.001) than did those participants in the highest quartile. This association remained statistically significant after controlling for potential confounding factors., Conclusion: Older Mexican Americans with reduced handgrip strength at baseline demonstrated a statistically significant decline in cognitive function over a 7-year period. By contrast, participants in the highest handgrip strength quartile maintained a higher level of cognitive function.

Objective: To examine the effects of predisposing, enabling, and need factors on physician and hospital use among older Mexican Americans., Design: A two-year prospective cohort study., Setting: Five Southwestern states: Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona, and California., Participants: A population-based sample of 1987 non-institutionalized Mexican American men and women age > or =65 years., Main Outcomes Measures: Physician and hospital utilization. Predictor variables included predisposing, enabling, and need factors. Ordinary least square and logistic regression analysis were used to model the effects of predictor factors specified in the Andersen model of health service use on physician and hospital use., Results: After two years of follow-up, predisposing and enabling factors accounted for <5% of the variance in physician and hospital use. Need factors explained 21% of the variance in physician use and 7% of the variance in hospital use. Older age; being female; insurance coverage; having arthritis, diabetes, heart attack, hypertension, stroke, or cancer; and number of medications were factors associated with higher physician utilization. Subjects with arthritis, diabetes, hip fracture, high depressive symptoms, activities of daily living (ADL) disability, or high number of medications increased the odds of having any hospitalization. Subjects with diabetes, heart attack, hip fracture, ADL disabled, and high number of medications had a greater number of hospital nights than their counterparts., Conclusions: Older age, female sex, insurance coverage, and prevalent medical conditions are determinants of healthcare use among older Mexican Americans.

Obesity and hypertension are major public health concerns in the US. We examined the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and blood pressure in older Mexican Americans using data from the Hispanic Established Population for the Epidemiological Study of the Elderly (EPESE), a longitudinal study of Mexican Americans aged 65 and over residing in the southwestern US. The study sample was 2404 older Mexican American adults with a mean age of 72.6 years of age at baseline (1993-4). Both systolic and diastolic blood pressures were higher in subjects with high BMI categories. The rate of change in systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure were -0.11 mm Hg and -0.32 mm Hg per year over a 7-year period, respectively. The rate of decline in systolic and diastolic blood pressure over a 7-year period was greater in subjects with BMI categories of 25- < 30 kg/m2 and 30- < 35 kg/m2 as compared with those subjects with in the lowest and in the highest BMI categories. Hypertension is one of the most prevalent medical conditions affecting older adults. Understanding possible modifiable risk factors that may play a role in the management of hypertension will be beneficial.

Objective: To determine the effects of baseline cognitive function on incidence of disability in activities of daily living (ADL) in initially non-disabled Mexican-American elderly over a 7-year period., Design: A prospective cohort study., Setting: Southwestern United States: Texas, California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Colorado., Participants: A population-based sample of Mexican Americans aged 65 and over who completed the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and other relevant variables at baseline. The sample at baseline consisted of 2731 subjects, of which 2431 were non-ADL disabled., Measurements: In-home interviews in 1993-94, 1995-96, 1998-99, and 2000-2001 assessed sociodemographic variables, selected medical conditions (stroke, cancer, diabetes, arthritis, and hip fracture), cognitive function, depressive symptomatology, and ADLs., Results: In a Cox proportional regression analysis, a significant relationship was evident between MMSE score at baseline and risk of incident ADL disability over a 7-year period. Among non-disabled subjects at baseline, the hazard ratio of any new ADL limitation was 1.58 (95% CI, 1.18-2.12) for those with impaired cognition (MMSE score 0-21), 1.38 (95% CI, 1.04-1.82) for low normal cognition (MMSE score 22-24), and 1.30 (95% CI, 1.02-1.66) for normal cognition (MMSE score 25-28) when compared to subjects with high-normal cognition (MMSE score 29-30), adjusting for sociodemographic variables, presence of selected medical conditions and depressive symptoms at baseline. Similar results were also found when MMSE score was used as a continuous variable. Among non-disabled subjects at baseline, each unit increase in MMSE score decreased the risk of onset of any ADL limitation over a 7-year follow-up period, controlling for relevant variables at baseline (HR=0.97; 95% CI, 0.95-0.99)., Conclusion: Low MMSE score was associated with increased risk for incident ADL disability over a 7-year period in older Mexican Americans. Given the social, economic, and health impact of cognitive impairment, these findings suggest a need to develop effective intervention programs that delay or prevent the onset of cognitive and ADL disability in the elderly.

Background and Aims: Little is known about muscle strength as a predictor of disability among older Mexican Americans. The aim of this study was to examine the association between hand grip strength and 7-year incidence of ADL disability in older Mexican American men and women., Methods: A 7-year prospective cohort study of 2493 non-institutionalized Mexican American men and women aged 65 or older residing in five south-western states. Maximal hand grip strength test, body mass index, cognitive function, activities of daily living, self-reports of medical conditions (arthritis, diabetes, heart attack, stroke, cancer, hip fracture), and depressive symptoms were obtained., Results: In a Cox proportional regression analysis, there was a linear relationship between hand grip strength at baseline and risk of incident ADL disability over a 7-year follow-up. Among non-disabled men at baseline, the hazard ratio of any new ADL limitation was 1.90 (95% CI 1.14-3.17) for those in the lowest quartile, when compared with men in the highest hand grip strength quartile, after controlling for age, marital status, medical conditions, high depressive symptoms, MMSE score, and BMI at baseline. Among non-disabled women at baseline, the hazard ratio of any new ADL limitation was 2.28 (95% CI 1.59-3.27) for those in the lowest quartile, when compared with women in the highest hand grip strength quartile., Conclusions: Hand grip strength is an independent predictor of ADL disability among older Mexican American men and women. The hand grip strength test is an easy, reliable, valid, inexpensive method of screening to identify older adults at risk of disability.

Objective: To estimate the prevalence of falls and the risk factors associated with falls in Mexican-American men and women aged 72 and older, from the Hispanic Established Population for the Epidemiological Study of the Elderly., Design: A 2-year cohort study., Setting: Five Southwestern states: Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona, and California., Methods: Data on sociodemographic characteristics, health status, cognitive function, affective function, functional status, body mass index, and summary performance measures of lower body function, were obtained (1998-1999). Two years later (2000-2001), falls in the previous 12 months were assessed by self-report. Chi-square, univariate statistics, and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used., Results: Of the 1,391 participants, 31.8% fell one or more times, and 14.2% reported 2 or more falls. In the logistic regression analysis, aged > or = 80 years (adjusted odds ratio [OR]=1.52, 95% confidence interval [CI]=1.17-1.98), being female (OR=1.45, 95% CI 1.13-1.86), having diabetes (OR=1.37, 95% CI 1.06-1.77), having arthritis (OR=1.32, 95% CI 1.04-1.68), experiencing impairment of instrumental activities of daily living (OR=1.05, 95% CI 1.01-1.10), and exhibiting high depressive symptoms (OR=1.59, 95% CI 1.16-2.19), were significant (P<.05) independent risk factors for one or more falls. The risk of falling increased linearly with the number of risk factors, from 14% with none, to 41% with 3 or more risk factors (P<.001)., Conclusions: Prevalence of falls among older Mexican Americans was similar to that reported in non-Hispanic Caucasians. Potential modifiable conditions, such as functional deficits, arthritis, diabetes, and depressive symptoms were independent risk factors for falls in this population.