Mental Health Benefits of Neighborhood for Older Mexican American Men | Aging In Action

by John Davy on March 28, 2011

For all the positive steps we can take for our health—exercise, social engagement, diet—much of our wellbeing is out of our control. A growing body of research demonstrates that factors such as stressors we experience, our parents’ income and education, and the neighborhoods we grow up in can all be risk factors for our health. Research has shown that economically disadvantaged neighborhoods lead to a greater risk of mortality and morbidity. At the same time, neighborhoods can also provide protective benefits. A recent study in the Journal of the American Geriatric Society showed that, for Mexican American men aged 75 and older, living in a neighborhood with a high density of Mexican Americans is associated with a lower risk of depression (Gerst et al 2011).
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Strains for Hispanic Caregivers - NYTimes.com

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By KAREN STABINER

Caregiving obligations are deeply felt in many Hispanic families; even those with few resources traditionally have not hesitated to assume responsibility for aging parents. But these days familialismo is running up against harsh modern realities. According to Jacqueline Angel, professor of sociology and public policy at the University of Texas, many Hispanic families are struggling with language barriers that make navigating the health care system difficult, and with poverty that limits care options and makes retirement planning an elusive, unaffordable dream.
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Hispanic Elderly More Likely Than Whites To Live In Inferior Nursing Homes

from Medical News Today

Hispanic senior citizens are living in nursing homes in ever-increasing numbers, but they face a gap in their quality of care compared to white residents, according to new research from Brown University.
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• Hispanic elderly more likely than whites to live in inferior nursing homes (scienceblog.com)

More Alzheimer’s Risk for Hispanics, Studies Find

By PAM BELLUCK Published: October 21, 2008, New York Times A significant number of Hispanics appear to be getting Alzheimer’s earlier, according to recent studies.

Hispanic Community Health Study (HCHS)/Study of Latinos (SOL)

The Hispanic Community Health Study (HCHS)/Study of Latinos (SOL) will identify risk factors for cardiovascular and lung disease in Hispanic populations and determine the role of acculturation in the prevalence and development of these diseases. Hispanics, now the largest minority population in the US, are influenced by factors associated with immigration from different cultural settings and environments, including changes in diet, activity, community support, working conditions, and health care access. This project is a multicenter, six-and-a-half year epidemiologic study and will recruit 16,000 Hispanic men and women aged 18-74 in four community-based cohorts in Chicago, Miami, San Diego, and the Bronx. The study will also examine measures of obesity, physical activity, nutritional habits, diabetes, lung and sleep function, cognitive function, hearing, and dental conditions. Closely integrated with the research component will be a community and professional education component, with the goals of bringing the research results back to the community, improving recognition and control of risk factors, and attracting and training Hispanic researchers in epidemiology and population-based research.

The Burden of Community-Acquired Pneumonia in the Elderly: The Spanish EVAN-65 Study

From BMC Public Health In this study, incidence of CAP increased dramatically with ageing, achieving the highest rate in people aged 85 years or more, where 29 cases per 1,000 person-year were observed. According to sex and age strata, very elderly men are at the greatest risk considering that one episode of CAP can be expected every year for every 25 men aged 85 years or older. Similar trends in the incidence rates stratified by age have been reported in most prior epidemiological studies, considering that the frequent association between increasing age and presence of underlying diseases accounts for an increased morbid-mortality due to CAP in the oldest adults.[17,18,21] It must also be noted that in this study the 30-days case-fatality rate was three fold higher among patients 85 years or older than in patients 65-74 years, which supports the important specific role of age as a predictor of 30-days mortality among patients with CAP, as the pneumonia severity score reflects.[29]

Traditions Prompt Many Hispanics to Hide Alzheimer's Disease

by Paul R. Kopenkoskey The Grand Rapids Press Tuesday September 09, 2008 Language and cultural barriers cause a significant number of elderly Hispanics with Alzheimer's disease to remain undiagnosed and untreated, experts say. The cultural tightrope Martin Vasquez Jr. walks has been stretched ever since he decided to admit his Alzheimer's-stricken father into a nursing home. Vasquez knows his family no longer has the ability to provide the round-the-clock care his 72-year-old father requires. But his Dominican Republic heritage has imprinted in him an abiding loyalty to the man who unwaveringly put his family's needs before his own.

Older Hispanics find health care lacking

Arelis Hernandez Orlanda Sentinel Staff Writer - August 8, 2008 Florida is facing an explosion in its number of elderly Hispanic residents, raising concerns about the strain on a health-care system little prepared to handle their unique needs. In 1995, U.S. census officials said Florida would face a 102 percent increase in Hispanics age 65 and older by 2010, from about 237,000 to 480,000. By 2007, the Hispanic elderly population had already increased by 124 percent to 530,000 people, or 12.5 percent of the senior population, according to Department of Elder Affairs data.

Knowledge of Diabetic Eye Disease and Vision Care Guidelines Among Hispanic Individuals

Beatriz Muñoz, MSc; Michael O’Leary, MA; Fannie Fonseca-Becker, PhD; Evelyn Rosario, BS; Isabel Burguess, BS; Marcela Aguilar, MPH; Cynthia Fickes, BA; Sheila K. West, PhD Arch Ophthalmol. 2008;126(7):968-974. Knowledge of the ocular complications of diabetes is low. The frequency of eye examinations among Hispanic individuals with diabetes is less than the national average for Hispanic individuals. Culturally appropriate health education and innovations to reduce barriers to eye care are needed.