The Pace of Functional Decline among Mexican-Origin Elders

Jacqueline Angel, University of Texas at Austin
Terrence D. Hill, Florida State University
Ronald Angel, University of Texas at Austin

This study employs a longitudinal data set, the Hispanic Established Epidemiologic Studies of the Elderly (H-EPESE), and growth mixture models to identify the correlates of different patterns of decline in functional capacity, measured by objective Performance Oriented Mobility Assessments (POMAs), among 3,050 Mexican-origin individuals 65 and older at baseline in 1993-94. The panel was recontacted six more times over the subsequent fourteen years. Results reveal three general patterns of decline (1) high initial functioning followed by decline (48% of the sample); (2) moderate initial functioning followed by decline (37.5% of the sample) and (3) poor initial functioning followed by continuing poor functioning or slight improvement (14.5% of the sample). Individuals with the most seriously impaired physical functioning tended to be older, more poorly educated, and less financially stable than respondents with better functioning or less decline.