Prevalence of food insecurity and its association with depressive and anxiety symptoms in older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic in Mexico: A secondary analysis of ENCOVID-19 survey.

Introduction: COVID-19 infection has caused high rates of morbi-mortality in older adults (OAs). In addition, conditions such as depression, anxiety, unemployment, and poverty frequently contribute to this population being at higher risk of food insecurity (FI) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Objective: This study aimed to analyze the prevalence of FI and its association with depressive and anxiety symptoms in Mexican OAs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: This study involved a secondary analysis of the National Survey on the Effects of COVID-19 on the Wellbeing of Mexican Households (ENCOVID-19), a series of cross-sectional telephone surveys conducted between April and October 2020. The OA subsample was 1,065. FI was measured by using the Latin American and Caribbean Food Security Scale (ELCSA), and depression and anxiety symptoms were measured by using the Depression Scale of the Center for Epidemiological Studies (CESD-7) and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-2), respectively. Socioeconomic status (SES), occupation, schooling, and pension were also evaluated. ANOVA was used to compare the variables between the different FI groups, and logistic regression was used to analyze the risk between FI and the anxiety and depression variables. Results: The mean age of the participants was 67.31 ± 6.4 years, and FI was classified as mild, moderate, and severe, with prevalences of 38.6, 15.04, and 8.16%, respectively. Overall, 28.01% of the OAs presented symptoms of anxiety and 39.09% of depression. In the comparison between groups, a higher prevalence of depressive symptoms was observed with a higher degree of FI, with 65.75% in moderate-to-severe, 10.39% in mild, and 9.40% without FI, p ≤ 0.000. Regarding anxiety symptoms, 48% of the OAs showed moderate-to-severe, 30.05% showed mild, and 15.38% were without FI, p ≤ 0.000. Using multiple logistic regression, an OR of 5.50 (95% CI 2.74-11.04) was observed for depressive symptoms when moderate-to-severe FI is present. In the case of the risk of anxiety symptoms, it was significant in all degrees of FI, in mild (OR = 2.43, 95% CI 1.66-3.59) and in moderate-to-severe (OR = 5.32, 95% CI 3.45-8.19). Conclusion: There is a high prevalence of FI in Mexican OAs during the COVID-19 pandemic. FI increases the risk of other conditions such as depression and anxiety. It is important to design and implement programs aimed at OAs with these conditions to reduce or prevent FI.

Low Physical Performance is Associated with a Poor Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQOL) in Community-Dwelling Older Mexicans".

Objective: Identify the association between low physical performance and quality of life in older adults. Methods: Cross-sectional analysis of the FraDySMex cohort study (Frailty, Daphnia and Sarcopenia in Mexican Adults). The physical performance was evaluated by Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB), and the quality of life through the Visual Analogue Scale of the EuroQol-5D for the Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQOL). In addition, other variables such as socio-demographic, comorbidity, cognitive status, depressive symptoms, anxiety, frailty, and functional dependence were evaluated. Results: 624 adults were included, 79.13% (CI 95% 75.72-82.26) women, aged 71.1±9.5 years. The prevalence of low physical performance frequency was 32.47% (CI 95% 28.88-36.31) and low HRQOL of 28.57% (CI 95% 25.05-32.29). The low physical performance was associated with a low HRQOL (OR= 2.09; CI 95% 1.35-3.23; p=.001), adjusted for age, sex, comorbidity index, cognitive, anxiety, and depressive symptoms in the logistic regression. Conclusion: The low physical performance is associated with a low quality of life in older people.

Sociodemographic and Clinical Characteristics of Centenarians in Mexico City.

BACKGROUND: There is little evidence about the demography and health status of adults aged 100 years and over in Latin America and there are no studies in Mexico. OBJECTIVES: To describe the demographic characteristics and health status of centenarians residing in Mexico City. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study using a population base of 393 community-dwelling centenarians in Mexico City. A comprehensive geriatric assessment was performed, including demographic information and health status. RESULTS: The mean age of centenarians was 101.82 ± 2.02 years, of whom 44 (9.1%) were semisupercentenarians (105-109 years old) and 5 (0.2%) were supercentenarians (≥110 years old). The female/male ratio was 3.2 : 1. Twelve (4.5%) reside in nursing homes. Women versus men have unfavorable conditions given their criteria: being without a partner, dependence in 1 or more basic activities, dependence in 1 or more instrumental activities, hypertension, cancer, and Parkinson's disease. Nevertheless, as compared to other populations, Mexican centenarians report having good self-perception of health (78.9%), polypharmacy (17.8%), low rate of pain (11.4%), diabetes (4.8%), and dyslipidemia (1.8%). CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study in Latin America that describes the social and clinical characteristics of centenarians in Mexico City. This population has a high percentage of malnutrition and osteoarthrosis, a high self-perception of health, low frequency of diabetes, dyslipidemia, cardiovascular disease, and a high frequency of "escapers" (24%).