Smoking increases risk for cognitive decline among community-dwelling older Mexican Americans.
OBJECTIVE
Few studies have investigated smoking and cognitive decline (CD) among older Mexican Americans. In this study, the authors explore the relationship between smoking status and cognitive changes over time in a large sample of community-dwelling older adults of Mexican descent.


METHODS
Latent growth curve analyses were used to examine the decreasing growth in the number of correct responses on a test of cognitive functioning with increasing age (7 years with four data collection points).


METHODS
In-home interviews were obtained from participants residing in the Southwest United States.


METHODS
Participants were community-dwelling older Mexican Americans.


METHODS
Cognitive functioning was assessed at each of the four data collection points with the Mini-Mental State Examination. Participants' self-reports of health functioning and smoking status were obtained at baseline.


RESULTS
With the inclusion of health variables and other control variables, the effect of smoking status on cognitive functioning was significant such that the decrease in the number of correct responses over time was greater for smokers than for nonsmokers.


CONCLUSIONS
Smoking increases risk for CD among community-dwelling older Mexican Americans. There are numerous health benefits in quitting smoking, even for older adults who have been smoking for many years. Further efforts to ensure that smoking cessation and prevention programs are targeted toward Hispanics are necessary.
Collins
Nicole
N
Department of Psychology, Florida State University, FL 32306-4301, USA.
Sachs-Ericsson
Natalie
N
Preacher
Kristopher J
KJ
Sheffield
Kristin M
KM
Markides
Kyriakos
K
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D017058:Mexican Americans / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012111:Residence Characteristics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012307:Risk Factors; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D015206:Southwestern United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors