The effects of social pensions on nutrition-related health outcomes of the poor: Quasi-experimental evidence from Peru.

This paper exploits the discontinuity around a welfare index of eligibility to assess the impact of Peru's social pension program Pension 65 on nutrition-related health outcomes among elderly poor individuals. Overall, we find evidence of how a relatively inexpensive program can produce improvements in anemia and nutrition-related mortality risk markers. The effects appear to be driven by plausible underlying mechanisms, including via improved nutritional quality as well as greater food expenditures and healthcare utilization.

The Role of Nutrition and Literacy on the Cognitive Functioning of Elderly Poor Individuals.

Maintaining cognitive function is a prerequisite of living independently, which is a highly valued component in older individuals' well-being. In this article we assess the role of early-life and later-life nutritional status, education, and literacy on the cognitive functioning of older adults living in poverty in Peru. We exploit the baseline sample of the Peruvian noncontributory pension program Pension 65 and find that current nutritional status and literacy are strongly associated with cognitive functioning for poor older adults.

Inequality in old age cognition across the world.

Although cohort and country differences in average cognitive levels are well established, identifying the degree and determinants of inequalities in old age cognitive functioning could guide public health and policymaking efforts. We use all publicly available and representative old age surveys with comparable information to assess inequalities of cognitive functioning for six distinctive age groups in 29 countries. We document that cognitive inequalities in old age are largely determined by earlier educational inequalities as well as gender differential survival rates.

Psychiatric symptoms are not an independent mortality risk factor in community-living elderly people.

Background: Mortality risk factors have attracted great research interest in recent years. Physical illness is strongly associated with mortality risk in elderly people. Furthermore, a relationship between mortality risk and psychiatric disease in the elderly has gained research interest.

Detecting psychogeriatric problems in primary care: factors related to psychiatric symptoms in older community patients.

Objective The aim was to determine the relationship and influence of different variables on the psychiatric symptomatology of older people who reside in the community, as detected by family practitioners.Design A cross-sectional and multi-centre study.Setting Twenty-eight general practices and two psychiatric practices in Huesca, Spain, from 19 primary care health centres.

Prevalence of psychiatric symptoms and mental disorders detected in primary care in an elderly Spanish population. The PSICOTARD Study: preliminary findings.

Objectives: To investigate the prevalence of mental health problems among the elderly attending Primary Care centres in the Province of Huesca (Spain). To detect factors associated with the psychopathology of the elderly, and to demonstrate that specific training for GPs (General Practitioners) in the use of psychogeriatric screening instruments significantly increases detection.

Methods: Sample selection was made by means of systematic random sampling, stratified by the participants' health centres.