Life Expectancy in Pre-Frail and Frail States with and without Disability: 18-Years of Follow-Up Data from the HEPESE Study Using the Markov Chain Method.

We estimated the total life expectancy (TLE), frailty-free life expectancy (FFLE), frail life expectancy (FLE), pre-frail life expectancy (PFLE), and FLE with and without disability among 2,000 Mexican Americans aged ≥67 years over an 18-year period. Frailty was defined as the presence of ≥2 criteria (weight loss, weakness, self-reported exhaustion, slowness). We used the Markov chain method to estimate the TLE, FFLE, FLE, PFLE, and FLE with and without disability by age and gender. TLE at age 67 was 17.49 years (women) and 15.54 years (men); FFLE was 6.50 years (women) and 6.45 years (men); PFLE was 6.48 years (women) and 5.42 years (men); FLE was 4.51 years (women) and 3.67 years (men); and FLE with disability was 2.13 years (women) and 1.13 years (men). In conclusion, Mexican American older women had fewer years of non-frail LE, more pre-frail or frail years, and more years with disability than men.

The Burden of Functional Disabilities for Middle-Aged and Older Adults in the United States.

OBJECTIVES: Understanding the role of functional capacity on longevity is important as the population in the United States ages. The purpose of this study was to determine the burden of instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) and activities of daily living (ADL) disabilities for a nationally-representative sample of middle-aged and older adults in the United States. DESIGN: Longitudinal-Panel. SETTING: Core interviews were often performed in person or over the telephone. PARTICIPANTS: A sub-sample of 31,055 participants aged at least 50 years from the 1998-2014 waves of the Health and Retirement Study who reported having a functional disability were included. MEASUREMENTS: Ability to perform IADLs and ADLs were self-reported at each wave. The National Death Index was used to ascertain date of death. The number of years of life that were lost (YLLs) and years lived with a disability (YLDs) were summed for the calculation of disability-adjusted life years (DALYs). Sampling weights were used in the analyses to make the DALYs nationally-representative. The results for YLLs, YLDs, and DALYs are reported in thousands. RESULTS: Of the participants included, 14,990 had an IADL disability and 13,136 had an ADL disability. Men and women with an IADL disability had 236,037 and 233,772 DALYs, respectively; whereas, there were 178,594 DALYs for males and 253,630 DALYs for females with an ADL disability. Collectively, there were 469,809 years of healthy life lost from IADL impairments, and 432,224 years of healthy life lost from ADL limitations. CONCLUSIONS: These findings should be used to inform healthcare providers and guide interventions aiming to preserve the functional capacity of aging adults. Prioritizing health-related resources for mitigating the burden of functional disabilities may help aging adults increase their quality of life and life expectancy over time.

Hospital readmission in persons with stroke following postacute inpatient rehabilitation.

BACKGROUND: Readmission is an important quality indicator following acute care hospitalization. We examined factors associated with hospital readmission in persons with stroke following postacute inpatient rehabilitation. METHODS: Prospective cohort study including 674 persons with stroke who received rehabilitation at 11 facilities located in eight states and the District of Columbia. Measures included hospital readmission within 3 months of discharge, sociodemographic characteristics, length of stay, primary payment source, comorbidities, stroke type, standardized assessments of motor and cognitive function, depressive symptoms, and social support. RESULTS: Mean age was 71.5 years (SD = 10.5). Twenty-five percent of patients reported high depressive symptoms. Overall, 18% (n = 122) of the sample was rehospitalized. Univariate analyses showed that people who were rehospitalized were more likely (p < .05) to be non-Hispanic white, married, demonstrate less functional independence at discharge, experience longer lengths of stay in rehabilitation, and report more depressive symptoms and lower social support. In the fully adjusted multivariable hierarchical generalized linear model, motor functional status (OR = 0.98, 95% CI 0.96-0.99), depressive symptoms (OR = 1.80, 95% CI 1.06-3.05), and social support (OR = 2.28, 95% CI 1.29-4.03) remained statistically significant. In addition, a minority-by-depressive symptoms interaction term also reached statistical significance. CONCLUSION: Functional status, depressive symptoms, and social support were important predictors of hospital readmission. These variables are not included in most administrative data sets. Future research to develop useful risk-adjustment models for rehospitalization following postacute inpatient rehabilitation services should include large diverse samples and explore practical sources for additional meaningful information.

Frailty and cognitive impairment as predictors of mortality in older Mexican Americans.

OBJECTIVE: Examine the association between frailty and cognitive impairment as predictors of mortality over a 10-year period in a selected sample of older Mexican Americans. DESIGN: Longitudinal analyses using data from the Hispanic Established Populations for the Epidemiologic Study of the Elderly (1995-96/2004-05). SETTING: Five southwestern states: Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona, and California. PARTICIPANTS: Mexican Americans aged 67 and older with complete information on the frailty index and the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) (n=1,815). MEASUREMENTS: Cognitive impairment determined by a score in the MMSE < 21. Frailty defined as three or more of the following components: 1) weight-loss, 2) weakness, 3) self-reported exhaustion, 4) slow walking speed, and 5) low physical activity level. Sociodemographic characteristics and chronic medical conditions were used as covariates. Mortality was determined using the National Death Index or by proxy. RESULTS: As MMSE score declines over time, the percent of frail individuals increases in a linear fashion. Frailty and cognitive impairment are independent risk factors for mortality after controlling for all covariates (HR 2.03 95% CI 1.57-2.62; HR 1.26 95% CI 1.05-1.52, respectively). When both cognitive impairment and frailty were added to the model, HR for individuals with cognitive impairment was no longer statistically significant. CONCLUSION: The relation between frailty and cognitive impairment needs careful analysis in this population to establish pathways increasing mortality and decreasing quality of life. Our results suggest frailty is a stronger predictor of mortality for older Mexican Americans than cognitive impairment.

Impact of pain on disability among older Mexican Americans.

BACKGROUND: Joint pain is a very common complaint among elderly persons and may lead to functional disability. The purpose of this study is to estimate the prevalence of self-reported pain on weight bearing and its impact on the 2-year incidence of limitation in lower-body activities of daily living (ADL) in initially nondisabled Mexican American elderly subjects. METHODS: We studied a probability sample of 2167 noninstitutionalized Mexican American men and women aged 65 or older residing in five Southwestern states. Subjects were asked about pain on weight bearing, ADL, depressive symptomatology, and the presence of chronic diseases. The body mass index was computed using measured height and weight. Finally, a three-task (tandem balance, 8-foot walk, and repeated chair stands), performance-based, lower-body function test was performed. RESULTS: The overall prevalence of pain on weight bearing in the sample was 31.9%, with 37.7% for women versus 24.0% for men (p <.001). The most prevalent sites of pain were knees (14.7%), followed by ankle/feet (12.1%). In a logistic regression analysis, pain was a significant independent predictor of subsequent disability and of the inability to perform tandem balance, 8-foot walk, and repeated chair stands. CONCLUSIONS: Pain on weight bearing is prevalent among older Mexican Americans and is a major independent risk factor for subsequent disability.

Impact of arthritis on disability among older Mexican Americans.

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the impact of self-reported diagnosis of arthritis at baseline on the two year incidence of limitation in activities of daily living and instrumental activities of daily living in initially non-disabled Mexican-American elderly. DESIGN: Longitudinal study. SETTING Southwestern United States (Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona and California). SUBJECTS: A probability sample of 2,167 non-institutionalized Mexican-American men and women, aged 65 or older. MEASURES: Having ever been told by a doctor that a subject had arthritis, Activities of Daily Living (ADL), Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL), depressive symptomatology, presence of chronic diseases (diabetes mellitus, heart attack, stroke, cancer), and body mass index (BMI). RESULTS: Among non-disabled persons at baseline, 11.2% of subjects with arthritis reported at least one ADL limitation after two years, compared to 6.9% of subjects without arthritis. Similarly, among non-disabled persons at baseline, 34.7% of subjects with arthritis reported at least one IADL limitation after two years, compared to 27.0% of subjects without arthritis. In logistic regression analysis, depression, diabetes, and arthritis were found to be predictive of the development of ADL disability, controlling for sociodemographic variables. Depression was the only condition that significantly predicted IADL disability. CONCLUSIONS: Subjects with arthritis were more likely to develop ADL and IADL disability over a two-year period than those without arthritis.

Prevalence of arthritis in older Mexican Americans.

OBJECTIVE: This study examines the prevalence of self-reported physician-diagnosed arthritis and arthritis symptoms and their relationship to functional limitations in Mexican American elderly. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study using a probability sample of 2,873 non-institutionalized Mexican American men and women aged 65 or older, residing in the southwestern United States. Measures included self-reported physician-diagnosed arthritis, morning pain or stiffness, pain when standing, global health rating, activities of daily living (ADL), instrumental activities of daily living (IADL), depressive symptoms, presence of chronic diseases (diabetes mellitus, hypertension, heart attack, stroke), and body mass index. The Mantel-Haenszel chi-square statistic was used to test differences by arthritis status, and a logistic regression model was used to predict the odds of having arthritis. RESULTS: The overall prevalence of self-reported physician-diagnosed arthritis in the sample was 40.8 percent, 50.0 percent among women and 28.8 percent among men (P < 0.001). Morning pain or stiffness was reported by 37.7 percent of respondents and pain when standing or walking by 31.9 percent. All comorbid conditions, and both IADL and ADL limitations, were more prevalent in those with arthritis than in those without arthritis. Female sex and several medical conditions were independently associated with self-reported arthritis. CONCLUSIONS: Self-reported physician-diagnosed arthritis is common among older Mexican Americans. Functional limitation and disability are more prevalent among subjects with arthritis than among those without arthritis.