Routine physical activity and mortality in Mexican Americans aged 75 and older.
OBJECTIVE
To examine the association between routine physical activity and risk of 3-year mortality in Mexican Americans aged 75 and older.


METHODS
Longitudinal study involving a population-based survey.


METHODS
Hispanic Established Population for the Epidemiologic Study of the Elderly (H-EPESE) survey conducted in the southwestern United States (TX, CO, AZ, NM, CA).


METHODS
Mexican-American men and women aged 75 and older (N = 948) participating in the H-EPESE.


METHODS
Responses to the Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly (PASE) were assessed in 2005-06. Mortality was determined according to report of relatives at 3-year follow-up and from the National Death Index. Covariates included sociodemographic characteristics, financial strain, smoking status, body mass index, activities of daily living, depressive symptoms, cognitive function, and comorbid conditions.


RESULTS
The mean age of the sample was 82.2 ± 4.5. Cox proportional hazard regression estimated that the hazard ratios of death for persons in the low, moderate, and high quartiles of physical activity (PASE scale) ranged from 0.36 (95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.21-0.62) to 0.50 (95% CI = 0.31-0.82) compared to persons in the sedentary quartile after adjusting for covariates.


CONCLUSIONS
Routine physical activity involving household and leisure activities was associated with lower 3-year risk of mortality in a sample of older Mexican Americans living in the community.
Center for Healthcare Quality and Safety, University of Texas Health Science Center, Memorial Hermann, Houston, Texas, USA. kottenba@utmb.edu
Allison J
AJ
Ottenbacher
Soham A
SA
Snih
Amol
A
Karmarkar
Jinhyung
J
Lee
Rafael
R
Samper-Ternent
Amit
A
Kumar
Saad
S
Bindawas
Kyriakos S
KS
Markides
Kenneth J
KJ
Ottenbacher
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D017058:Mexican Americans / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D009026:Mortality / Q000639:trends*; D009043:Motor Activity; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D012306:Risk; D015206:Southwestern United States / Q000453:epidemiology