Journal
BMC GERIATRICS
Volume 22, Issue 1, Pages -Publisher
BMC
DOI: 10.1186/s12877-022-02945-4
Keywords
Obesity; Mortality; Oldest old; Mexican American; Hispanic
Categories
Funding
- National Institute on Aging
- National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities
- Texas Resource Center on Minority Aging Research [R01 AG10939, R01 AG017638, 1P30 AG05930101, R01 MD010355]
Ask authors/readers for more resources
This study examines the effect of body mass index (BMI) on 12-year mortality among older Mexican Americans aged 75 years and older. The findings suggest that overweight and obesity have a protective effect on mortality in this population, which has implications for treating older adults with overweight and obesity.
Background The role of obesity in mortality in the very old and old-oldest Hispanic population has not been studied. The objective of this study was to examine the effect of body mass index (BMI) on 12-year mortality among older Mexican Americans aged 75 years and older. Methods Twelve year prospective cohort study consisting of a population-based sample of 1415 non-institutionalized Mexican American men and women aged 75 and older from 5 southwestern states: Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas. Data was from Wave 5 of the Hispanic Established Population for the Epidemiologic Study of the Elderly (2004/2005-2016). Socio-demographics, body mass index (BMI), self-reported medical conditions, disability, depressive symptoms, falls, Mini-Mental-State-Examination (MMSE), and Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB) were assessed at baseline during 2004-2005. BMI (Kg/m(2)) was classified as underweight (< 18.5), normal weight (18.5 to < 25), overweight (25 to < 30), obesity category I (30 to < 35), and obesity category II/morbid obesity (>= 35). For assessment of mortality, deaths were ascertained through the National Death Index and report from relatives. Cox proportional hazards regression analysis was performed to estimate the hazard ratio (HR) of 12-year mortality as a function of BMI categories at baseline. Results The mean BMI was 27.5 +/- 1.7 with participants classified as 1.8% underweight, 30.8% normal weight, 39.2% overweight, 20.7% obesity category I, and 7.6% obesity category II/morbid obesity. Mexican Americans aged >= 75 years with overweight or obesity category I had a reduced HR of death (0.82, 95% CI = 0.70-0.96 and 0.75, 95% CI = 0.62-0.91, respectively) over 12-years of follow-up. The HR of death for underweight and obesity category II/morbid obesity participants was 1.59 (95% CI = 1.03-2.45) and 1.12 (95% CI = 0.85-1.46), respectively. Female participants and those with high scores in the MMSE and SPPB had decreased risk of death. Conclusions This study showed the protective effect of overweight and obesity on mortality in Mexican Americans above 75 years of age, which might have implications when treating older adults with overweight and obesity.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available