Total anticholinergic burden and survival within a cohort of elderly Mexican Americans.

Aim: Studies examining the association between mortality and anticholinergic burden in the geriatric population are conflicting and are absent in the Mexican American population. The present study aimed to determine whether higher anticholinergic burden increases mortality in a cohort representative of community-based older Mexican Americans in the USA.

Methods: This retrospective cohort database study used the Hispanic Established Populations for the Epidemiologic Study of the Elderly cohort.

Framing Effects on End-of-Life Preferences Among Latino Elders.

This study compared how the presentation of end-of-life (EOL) choices influences responses by Latino and White older adults relative to resuscitation preferences. The authors apply prospect theory, which deals with decision making based on how choices are framed. Participants were presented with differently ordered questions framing a resuscitation scenario and asked to rate their preferences.

The geriatrician and geriatric psychiatrist workforce in Texas: characteristics, challenges, and policy implications.

Objective: This study provides a current analysis of the size and characteristics of the board-certified geriatrician and geriatric psychiatrist workforce in Texas, and thereby its capacity to meet increasing health needs of elders.

Method: Secondary data on Texas board-certified geriatricians and geriatric psychiatrists from American Board of Medical Specialties database were analyzed.

Results: The study found 1 geriatrician per 5,132 elders, and 1 geriatric psychiatrist per 21,327 elders, in Texas.

Correlates associated with the desire for PEG tube placement at the end of life among community-dwelling older Mexican Americans: a pilot study.

Background And Aims: Use of percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) tubes in older adults remains controversial. This cross-sectional study examines community-dwelling Mexican American older adults' attitudes toward PEG tube placement in the hypothetical event of a terminal illness.

Methods: Interviews were conducted with 100 community-dwelling Mexican American (MA's) adults, age 60 and over, in San Antonio, Texas.

Characteristics of Mexican American elders admitted to nursing facilities in the United States: data from the Hispanic Established Populations for Epidemiologic Studies of the Elderly (EPESE) study.

Objectives: The purpose of the current study was to describe the factors associated with Mexican American elders in the Southwestern United States who have spent time in a skilled nursing facility (SNF) compared with those who have not.

Design: Data were collected on the Mexican American elders who reported an SNF stay within 10 years of baseline.

Participants: A probability sample of 3050 Mexican American elders from five Southwestern states followed from 1993 to 2005 were examined.

The role of physical activity and diabetes status as a moderator: functional disability among older Mexican Americans.

Purpose: we investigate the temporal association between the rate of change in physical function and the rate of change in disability across four comparison groups: Those with and without diabetes who report >30 min of physical activity per day, and those who report <30 min of physical activity per day.

Methods: six waves of longitudinal data from the Hispanic Established Population for Epidemiologic Studies of the Elderly were utilised. At baseline, there were a total of 3,050 elder participants aged 65 years old or greater.

Attitudes regarding the use of ventilator support given a supposed terminal condition among community-dwelling Mexican American and non-Hispanic white older adults: a pilot study.

Purpose: To determine the factors that are associated with Mexican Americans' preference for ventilator support, given a supposed terminal diagnosis.

Methods: 100 Mexican Americans, aged 60-89, were recruited and screened for MMSE scores above 18. Eligible subjects answered a questionnaire in their preferred language (English/Spanish) concerning ventilator use during terminal illness.

Cultural Considerations: Pharmacological and Nonpharmacological Means for Improving Blood Pressure Control among Hispanic Patients.

Cardiovascular disease is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States, and its prevention and treatment remain a priority for the medical community. Ethnic variations account for some differences in the prevalence of hypertension and blood pressure (BP) control rates among Hispanics, indicating the need for culturally appropriate management models. Aggressive treatment strategies are key to achieving optimal BP control in high-risk Hispanic patients.

Factors associated with use of calcium and calcium/vitamin D supplements in older Mexican Americans: Results of the Hispanic EPESE study.

Background: Current studies indicate that older Mexican Americans take fewer calcium or calcium/vitamin D supplements than do older non-Hispanic whites. Factors associated with calcium supplement use are not completely understood in this ethnic group.

Objective: The purpose of this article was to determine the prevalence of calcium or calcium/vitamin D supplementation and factors associated with their use in older Mexican Americans.

Mini-mental state exam domains predict falls in an elderly population: follow-up from the Hispanic Established Populations for Epidemiologic Studies of the Elderly (H-EPESE) study.

Objectives: Assessment of the predictive ability of the Mini-Mental Status Exam (MMSE) domains (orientation to time, orientation to place, registration, attention and calculation, recall, language, and visual construction) for falls in Mexican American elders tested the hypothesis that low MMSE domain scores are related to an increased number of falls.

Design: Data were obtained from the 1998-99 re-survey (Wave 3) Hispanic Established Populations for the Epidemiologic Study of the Elderly (H-EPESE), a population-based study of older Mexican Americans residing in the southwestern United States.

Methodology: We used a retrospective case control study design; 926 subjects who were aged > or = 77 years at Wave 3 were examined.

Prevalence and characteristics associated with self-reported gall bladder disease in Mexican American elders: results from the Hispanic Established Populations for Epidemiologic Studies in the Elderly (H-EPESE).

Background And Aims: To identify the prevalence and characteristics of gall bladder disease (GBD) that has been self-reported in Mexican American Elders.

Methods: A prospective survey of a regional probability sample of self-identified Mexican Americans aged 65 and over. The Hispanic Established Population for the Epidemiologic Studies of the Elderly (H-EPESE), a probability sample of non-institutionalized, Mexican Americans, aged 65 and over, residing in Southwestern states of Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona, and California.

Characteristics of hip fractures among hospitalized elder Mexican American Black and White Medicare beneficiaries in the Southwestern United States.

Background And Aims: Hip fractures are a major cause of morbidity and mortality in the older adult population. The evidence of the incidence of morbidity and mortality in Mexican Americans compared to other ethnic groups is mixed. This study aims to examine characteristics and utilization patterns of older Mexican Americans compared to Whites and Blacks, hospitalized for hip fracture in the Southwestern United States.

Association of suboptimal prescribing and change in lower extremity physical function over time.

Background: Previous studies have found inconsistent links between suboptimal prescribing and negative patient outcomes. While suboptimal prescribing consists of multiple components, e.g.

Suboptimal medication use and mortality in an older adult community-based cohort: results from the Hispanic EPESE Study.

Background: Numerous methods have been used to evaluate medication management quality in older adults; however, their predictive validities are unknown. Major medication quality indicators include polypharmacy, drug-drug interactions, and inappropriate medication use. To date, no study has attempted to evaluate the three approaches systematically or the effect of each approach on mortality in a Hispanic population.

Geriatrics in Brazil: a big country with big opportunities.

Brazil has approximately 180 million inhabitants, of whom 15.2 million are aged 60 and older and 1.9 million are aged 80 and older.

Association between acculturation and structural assimilation and mini-mental state examination-assessed cognitive impairment in older Mexican Americans: findings from the San Antonio Longitudinal Study of Aging.

Older Mexican Americans (MAs) have consistently scored lower on the Folstein Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) than older European Americans (EAs). These lower scores may arise from factors other than those traditionally posited (age and education). Thus, this study examined the association between acculturation and structural assimilation and MMSE-assessed cognitive impairment, taking into account education, income, and other contextual factors.

Association between change in systolic blood pressure and cognitive decline among elderly Mexican Americans: data from the Hispanic established population for epidemiology study of the elderly.

The longitudinal association between the rate of change in blood pressure and cognitive decline was examined in an area probability sample from a population-based survey of elderly Mexican Americans, 65 years of age or older obtained in 1993--1994, 1995--1996, 1998--1999, and 2000--2001 (n = 2859). The sample was divided into two groups at baseline: hypertensives had a systolic blood pressure (SBP) > or = 140 mm Hg, a diastolic blood pressure (DBP) > or = 90 mm Hg, or indicated a prior diagnosis of hypertension, and the normotensive group. Cognition was indexed by the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE).

Prevalence and patterns of executive impairment in community dwelling Mexican Americans: results from the Hispanic EPESE Study.

Introduction: Little is known about the prevalence of impaired executive control function (ECF) in community dwelling elderly or minority populations. We have determined the prevalence of cognitive impairment and impaired ECF in a community dwelling Mexican American elderly population, and their associations with functional status.

Subjects: Subjects were 1165 Mexican Americans age 65 and over who were administered CLOX as part of the third wave of the Hispanic Established Population for Epidemiological Study (HEPESE) conducted from 1998 to 1999.

Evaluation of the mini-mental state examination's internal consistency in a community-based sample of Mexican-American and European-American elders: results from the San Antonio Longitudinal Study of Aging.

This study examined the effect of scoring method, education, and language usage on internal consistency of the Folstein Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). Trained bilingual staff administered the MMSE in participants' homes as part of the San Antonio Longitudinal Study of Aging home-based assessment battery. Subjects included 833 community-dwelling Mexican-American (MA) and European-American (EA) elders, aged 65 and older, residing in three socioculturally distinct neighborhoods in San Antonio, Texas.

Prevalence and severity of urinary incontinence in elderly Mexican-American women.

Objectives: To measure prevalence and characteristics of urinary incontinence in older Mexican-American women.

Design: Cross-sectional analysis of a longitudinal survey of a representative sample of older Mexican Americans.

Setting: Five southwestern states in the United States.

Inconsistent use of diabetes medications, diabetes complications, and mortality in older mexican americans over a 7-year period: data from the Hispanic established population for the epidemiologic study of the elderly.

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between inconsistency in use of diabetes drugs and risk of renal, eye, and circulation problems and death over a 7-year period in community-dwelling older Mexican Americans.

Research Design And Methods: Data are from the four waves of the Hispanic Established Population for the Epidemiologic Study of the Elderly. In-home interviewers assessed consistency in use of diabetes medications among 908 diabetic Mexican Americans, aged >or=65 years.