title: Older adults under a mixed regime of infectious and chronic diseases.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Analyze the impact of a mixed regime of infectious and chronic conditions among older adults in Mexico on their health progression.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 12 207 adults from the Mexican Health and Aging Study were included. Logistic regression analyses were conducted to assess the relationship between self-reported health (SRH) and covariates, including infectious and chronic diseases. Changes in SRH between 2001-2003 were analyzed using multinomial analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Older age, low SES, poor SRH and type of disease at baseline increase the odds of poor SRH at follow-up. Odds of poor SRH are highest for persons with both types of diseases (OR 2.63, SE 0.24), followed by only chronic (OR 1.86; SE 0.12) and finally only infectious (OR 1.55; SE 0.25).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Mexico is experiencing a mixed regime of diseases that affects the health and well-being of older adults. Despite the rising importance of chronic diseases in countries like Mexico, it is premature to disregard the relevance of infectious diseases for public health.
authors.affiliation: Sealy Center on Aging, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX 77555-0177, USA. rasamper@utmb.edu
authors.forename: Rafael
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Samper-Ternent
authors.forename: Alejandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Michaels-Obregon
authors.forename: Rebeca
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Palloni
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002908:Chronic Disease / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003141:Communicable Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015897:Comorbidity; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006304:Health Status; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008800:Mexico / Q000453:epidemiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D009026:Mortality / Q000639:trends; D015995:Prevalence; D025341:Principal Component Analysis; D057566:Self Report; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors