Hispanics are the second largest minority population in the U.S. Mexican Americans (MA) comprise the largest number subset of Hispanics, representing 11 of the 18 million U.S. Hispanics. The population growth rate of aged MA's is 75%, greater than any other population group in the U.S. In spite of its demographic importance, the health needs, medical problems and their impact on physical frailty of elderly MA's remains an under-studied area. To address these issues we propose to conduct the San Antonio Longitudinal Study of Aging [SALSA].
The specific aims of the project are to carry-out a comprehensive, cross-sectional functional status assessment among elderly members (64+ years old) of the San Antonio Heart Study cohort (SAHS). This assessment will include performance-based and self-report measures of the full spectrum of physical impairment, disability, and handicap, and will provide both baseline data for subsequent follow-ups and data needed to test a cohesive set of hypotheses designed to enhance our understanding of: 1) ethnic differences in functional status and the burden of disease in elderly MA and non-Hispanic whites, 2) sociocultural determinants of functional status and the burden of disease within the elderly MA population; and 3) the association between functional status and the burden of disease, with a focus on the functional sequelae of four major chronic diseases: non-insulin dependent diabetes and its complications, coronary heart disease, hypertension, and arthritis. A longitudinal study of the burden of disease and functional status among a subset of diabetic subjects for whom baseline data (collected 1984-1988) are available on both diabetes complications and functional status and will be nested within the cross- sectional study. SALSA will include the first longitudinal study of diabetes, diabetes complications, and functional status in elderly MA. The long-term goal of SALSA is to establish the first prospective, longitudinal study of aging, functional status, and long-term care in elderly MA's. The purpose of the longitudinal study will be to follow elderly cohort members into and through their eighties to document associations between the burden of disease, subsequent functional status, and need for long-term care. SALSA will examine underlying factors that account for observed ethnic differences in physical frailty and subsequent utilization of health care services.
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