ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: Based on the 1988 National Health Survey data base, a preliminary approach to an epidemiologic profile of the Mexican elderly is proposed. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This paper analyzes both reported prevalences of some of the principal health problems in Mexicans over 60 years of age and the relationship between selected morbidity, socio-demographic variables and impairment of daily living activities, stratified by age. RESULTS: Results show that: a) the panorama of reported morbidity among the Mexican elderly is a combination of multiple causes, b) socially defined groups present heterogeneous disease patterns, c) selected morbidity is strongly related to daily living activity impairments. CONCLUSIONS: This approach may be used to improve research on living and health conditions of the Mexican elderly.
