Health-related conditions and depression in elderly mexican american and non-Hispanic white residents of a United States-Mexico border county: moderating effects of educational attainment.

We investigated the prevalence of "high" levels of depressive symptomatology and 13 health-related medical conditions in elderly Mexican American (MA) and non-Hispanic white (NHW) residents of El Paso County, Texas. We analyzed the extent to which depressive symptoms in this population are associated with these conditions. Elderly MA residents possessed a higher prevalence of current depression, a relatively unique health-related condition profile, and were more likely to experience a set of conditions that impede participation in daily life-conditions that we found to be strongly associated with high depressive symptomatology in the elderly.

Mexican-American ethnicity and cognitive function: findings from an elderly southwestern sample.

Relatively little is known about late-life patterns of cognitive function among Hispanics of Mexican heritage who reside in the United States. The authors designed a study to assess the association between Mexican-American ethnicity (defined in terms of childhood and adolescent developmental history) and cognitive function among elderly Mexican-American and non-Hispanic white residents of El Paso County, Texas. Our findings indicate significant associations between the degree of Mexican-American ethnicity and cognitive impairment on all three measures of cognitive function.

Sociocultural limits in informed consent in dementia research.

Ethical considerations in obtaining informed consent for dementia research have remained a largely neglected issue with respect to recruiting members of ethnic minorities and low-income groups. After briefly sketching the development of informed consent guidelines in the United States, this article focuses on the complex interactions between minority culture and low socioeconomic status as inhibiting factors in the informed consent process. We note that, at a minimum, freely given informed consent rests on the potential participant's belief that he or she is totally free to say "no.