Healthy ageing trajectories and lifestyle behaviour: the Mexican Health and Aging Study

Abstract

Projections show that the number of people above 60 years old will triple by 2050 in Mexico. Nevertheless, ageing is characterised by great variability in the health status. In this study, we aimed to identify trajectories of health and their associations with lifestyle factors in a national representative cohort study of older Mexicans. We used secondary data of 14,143 adults from the Mexican Health and Aging Study (MHAS). A metric of health, based on the conceptual framework of functional ability, was mapped onto four waves (2001, 2003, 2012, 2015) and created by applying Bayesian multilevel Item Response Theory (IRT). Conditional Growth Mixture Modelling (GMM) was used to identify latent classes of individuals with similar trajectories and examine the impact of physical activity, smoking and alcohol on those. Conditional on sociodemographic and lifestyle behaviour four latent classes were suggested: high-stable, moderate-stable, low-stable and decliners. Participants who did not engage in physical activity, were current or previous smokers and did not consume alcohol at baseline were more likely to be in the trajectory with the highest deterioration (i.e. decliners). This study confirms ageing heterogeneity and the positive influence of a healthy lifestyle. These results provide the ground for new policies.

The impact of physical activity on healthy ageing trajectories: evidence from eight cohort studies

“…Whilst most of the population exhibited a stable trajectory at a high level of health, we found two subgroups with alternative trajectories: one with a stable lower level of health; and a third subgroup starting at a similar point as the majority of the population but whose health severely deteriorated over time. These results were similar to those reported in previous studies in terms of the number and shape of the different trajectories [9,29,30], although in some of these studies the declining trajectories comprised a higher percentage of the population. Our findings were replicated in the sensitivity analyses, supporting the existence of heterogeneity in ageing trajectories and the importance of accounting for this heterogeneity when studying healthy ageing [3,4].…”

“…fast decline) was relatively low, which led to wider confidence intervals. Finally, although recent research on low-and middle-income countries has found results that are consistent with the evidence presented in our study [9,24], it is important to note that most of the countries included in this study were high-income countries. As a result of these limitations, extra caution is needed when generalising these findings.…”

“…Physical activity promotion has been suggested to reduce the risk of developing non-communicable diseases [ 5 ] and the healthcare expenditure [ 6 ], and to increase the satisfaction with one’s life and with the ageing process [ 7 ]. Evidence from epidemiological studies has also shown that physical activity is strongly associated with healthier ageing trajectories [ 8 , 9 ], better cognitive function trajectories [ 10 ] and improved frailty trajectories [ 11 ]. In particular, a recent meta-analysis [ 12 ] has summarised the findings from 23 longitudinal studies focusing on the associations between physical activity and healthy ageing and suggested that physically active older adults (defined by any levels of exercises or activities) had almost 40% increased odds of experiencing healthy ageing compared to their non-physically active counterparts.…”

Factors of Successful Aging among Pre-Retirement Public Servants in Klang Valley, Malaysia

“…Healthy lifestyles, including during midlife, have been proven to be associated with good overall health during aging.However, we could not determinethe associations between remaining sociodemographic and behaviour variables and SA in the present study. This is inconsistent with previous studies [26][27].A possible explanation for the discrepancy is that the majority of our respondents were female and it is not the norm for Malaysian women to smoke or drink alcohol due to socio-cultural environmentalinfluence [28].…”

Ageing of the Diaphragm Muscle

“…Ageing is not a problem confined to the most economically developed countries. Malaysia will become a country of people who are predominantly elderly by 2035; In Mexico, the elderly population will have a higher percentage of growth than other Latin American countries by 2050 [5,6]. Tunisia is experiencing an increase in the elderly population and a decrease in overall population growth [7].…”