INFLUENCE OF COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT ON PROGRESSING FROM BEING PRE-FRAIL FOR OLDER MEXICAN AMERICANS

• Published in: Innovation in aging 2017-07, Vol.1 (suppl_1), p.975-975
• Main Authors: Downer, B., Al Snih, S., Howrey, B.T., Raji, M., Markides, K.S., Ottenbacher, K.J.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Abstracts
• ISSN: 2399-5300; 2399-5300
• DOI: 10.1093/geroni/igx004.3517

Many older adults recover from pre-frailty, but a significant number experience continued declines and may become frail or deceased. Older Mexican Americans are vulnerable to becoming frail. This may be partly due to the high prevalence of cognitive impairment in this population. However, research into the role of cognition in the progression from pre-frailty is limited. Data for this analysis came from Wave 6 (2006–07) and Wave 7 (2010–11) of the Hispanic Established Population Epidemiological Study of the Elderly. The final sample included 1006 participants (age ≥ 77 years). Non-frail, pre-frail, and frail were defined as presence of 0, 1, and ≥ 2 frailty measures (weight loss, exhaustion, slow walking speed, and low grip strength). Cognitive impairment was defined as < 21 points on the Mini Mental Status Examination. Multinomial logistic regression models were used to assess the relationship between cognition and frailty status at Wave 6 (2006–07) and frailty status and mortality at Wave 7 (2010–11). The reference category was being non-frail and not cognitively impaired. Participants who were cognitively impaired and pre-frail (n=89) had 5.76 (95% CI=2.27–14.60) times higher odds to become frail and 3.95 (95% CI=1.60–9.79) times higher odds to be deceased at Wave 7. Participants who were pre-frail but not cognitively impaired at (n=243) did not have significantly higher odds to be frail (OR=1.51, 95% CI=0.83–2.76) or deceased (OR=0.97, 95% CI=0.54–1.72) at Wave 7. These findings provide evidence that cognitive impairment is an important characteristic of pre-frail older Mexican American adults who become frail or deceased.