Physical activity and smoking: gender comparisons among older African American adults.

Little effort has been expended on the examination of systematic health risk behaviors among adult African Americans by gender. Using data from the national Health and Retirement Study (HRS), this article compares differences between male and female physical activity and smoking behaviors of African Americans aged 50 to 61. The analysis highlights a clear pattern of socioeconomic differences with current male smokers, who are more likely to be unmarried and in the lower income and educational levels. Among women, the relationship between smoking patterns, income, and education is less definitive and consistent. Our findings, confirmed by earlier studies, indicate that the largest percentage of the study population, both male and female, are not engaged in any form of regular physical exercise. Thus human service providers must be more attentive to gender and sociodemographic differences in smoking habits and patterns of physical activities to tailor policies and programs accordingly.

Acculturation and functional impairment among older Chinese and Vietnamese in San Diego County, California.

Level of acculturation and the relationship to functional impairment was examined among a group of Chinese (n = 50) and Vietnamese (n = 50) 45 years and older in San Diego County, California. Prevalence of functional impairment and level of acculturation, one-way analysis of variance and Pearson correlations were utilized to examine differences between ethnicity, gender and age groups, as well as significant relationships between various dimensions of impairment and levels of acculturation. Findings indicated that lack of English language skills and lack of use and exposure to English were associated with social and economic resource impairment, mental and physical health impairment, and ADL impairment, as measured by a modified OARS instrument. Data suggested that the visibility and extensiveness of the Vietnamese community may serve to buffer the negative effects associated with the acculturation process for the Vietnamese.

Prevalence of alcohol consumption among older persons.

Percent prevalences of alcohol consumption were determined in a cross-sectional study of randomly chosen residents of San Diego County, California aged 45 years and over. The study sample (N = 2,105) showed statistically significant drinking differences between Whites (n = 819), Blacks (n = 629), and Mexican-Americans (n = 657). Overall, the highest prevalence of drinking occurred among the White elderly. The common belief that socioeconomic conditions are inversely associated with a high prevalence of drinking was not supported in this sample. Statistically significant differences in age-specific and sex-specific percent prevalences of alcohol intake were also found. There was a generally decreasing prevalence of alcohol consumption with advancing age, which existed regardless of ethnicity. Initial empirical measures and a better understanding of drinking correlates will identify those elderly persons at risk and provide the basis for future interventions in the areas of applied epidemiology and health promotion.

A discriminant analysis of severe alcohol consumption among older persons.

A cross-sectional study among older persons (N = 1034) utilized multivariate stepwise discriminate analysis to determine the predictive value of variables affecting alcohol intake. Fifteen per cent of our study sample was classified as severe drinkers. Alcohol consumption before age 40, smoking, male gender and marital status were predictors of severe drinking. In addition, the unimpaired Older Americans Resource and Services (OARS) objective summary ratings for physical status and activities of daily living (ADL) were associated with severe drinking. Assessing the factors that predict alcohol consumption may help to identify initially those persons at possible risk, lending to heuristic and theoretical alcohol prevention policies among the aged.

Epidemiology of head trauma and neurocognitive impairment in a multi-ethnic population.

This study tested two hypotheses. These were: (1) that mild cognitive impairment of the type that may characterize early-onset dementia of the Alzheimer type varies by ethnic group among the noninstitutionalized elderly, and (2) that head trauma is a risk factor associated with the development of this disease. The study sample consisted of a cohort of 2,105 Black, Mexican-American and White subjects aged 45 years and over at baseline in 1985-1987 in San Diego, Calif. Intellectual functioning was measured by Pfeiffer's Short Portable Mental Status Questionnaire. Percent prevalence of test failure after Pfeiffer's adjustment for education and ethnicity was highest for Whites (5.7%, CI = 4.26, 7.57) and lowest for Blacks (1.3%, CI = 0.61, 2.63), with Mexican-Americans intermediate (3.5%, CI = 2.28, 5.29). The difference between Blacks and Whites was statistically significant at the 0.05 level. Females failed more often (4.2%, CI = 3.15, 5.56) than males (3.1%, CI = 2.13, 4.47) across all ethnic groups, but the difference was not statistically significant after Pfeiffer's adjustment for education and ethnicity. Self-reported head traumas and other possible risk factors for dementia of the Alzheimer type were examined by logistic regression in a case-control analysis. A statistically significant association (OR = 8.577, CI = 3.056, 24.064) was noted for those with mild intellectual impairment who reported head traumas in a multivariate environment.

Use of the CES-D among a community sample of older Mexican-Americans.

This study is a descriptive and comparative analysis of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CES-D) scale as administered to a sample of Mexican-Americans (n = 455) age 45 years and older. This sample was part of a cross-sectional survey (Health and Lifestyles After 45) carried out in 1985-1987 by the University Center on Aging at San Diego State University. Results indicate that CES-D mean scores (overall = 11.3) and caseness rates (overall = 25.9%) are comparable with depression data reported from other studies among samples of Mexican-Americans. Factor analysis provided evidence indicating cultural response preferences among Mexican-Americans, particularly immigrants, who tend to somatize dysphoric complaints. A re-examination of an often cited CES-D ethnic validation study is included. Implications for construct validity of the CES-D among older Mexican-Americans are discussed.

The funding crisis: implications for the survival of human service institutions.

At a time when human service providers should be priming their technologies to meet the emerging needs of a new age, they appear to be fighting for their very survival. New governmental priorities have reduced the Welfare State to a new level of pauperism, where both public and private services scurry for scarce resources. In the midst of these changes, serious questions emerge regarding who is ultimately responsible. That is, for maintaining acceptable standards of human dignity and rights despite government preoccupation with budget-balancing. Traditional advocates in the form of civil rights community organizations and organized labor groups do not appear to be available for the task. And recent changes in conventional primary group systems such as the family and the neighborhood complicate the matter of identifying appropriate leaders for mobilizing any form of "grass roots" movement. Despite what appears to be a bleak future for the human services, there is little question about their survival. The issue is, in what form and at what level of quality will they survive. If current trends continue, they will most certainly be incapable of meeting even basic human needs in the future. Funding in its current form may be a moot issue. Ultimately, it may be those who are dependent upon service systems who will determine their own survival.