Perceptions of aging and ageism among Mexican physicians-in-training.

INTRODUCTION: Attributing negative stereotypes to older adults (ageism) may lead to undertreatment, but little is known about the prevalence of ageism among physicians treating patients with cancer in Ibero-America. We studied stereotypes of aging among Mexican physicians-in-training. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Physicians-in-training attending an oncology meeting answered the "Negative Attributes and Positive Potential in Old Age" survey. Ten questions assessed positive characteristics of aging (PPOA; score 1-4, higher scores represent a positive perception), and four assessed negative characteristics (NAOA; score 1-4, higher score representing a negative perception). Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the questionnaires. Participants completed the "Image-of-Aging" question by writing five words describing older adults and young individuals. Each word was rated from - 5 (negative) to + 5 (positive), and presented as word clouds. RESULTS: One hundred physicians-in-training (median age 28.5) were included. For the PPOA scale, the mean score was 2.9 (SD 0.4), while for the NAOA scale it was 2.1 (SD 0.4). Perceptions of aging were better among women and trainees enrolled in geriatrics and/or oncology-related programs. In the "Image-of-Aging" questions, median rating of words describing older adults was - 2, compared to + 3 for young individuals (p < 0.001). Among words used to describe older adults, the most frequent was "frail/frailty" (n = 45), while "health" (n = 46) was the most frequent for younger individuals. CONCLUSIONS: Mexican physicians-in-training showed mostly negative perceptions of aging, exemplified by the use of negative terms to describe older adults. Creating educational initiatives aimed at decreasing ageism among oncology trainees is necessary across Ibero-America.

Cancer and aging in Ibero-America.

Population aging represents a worldwide challenge. In Ibero-America (Spain, Portugal, and the American countries in which the Spanish or Portuguese language are spoken), the number of older adults is growing, leading to an increase in aging-related diseases such as cancer. Older adults already account for half of all cancer cases in Ibero-America, and this proportion will continue to increase. Furthermore, Ibero-American healthcare systems are not adequately prepared to provide care for older adults with cancer, mainly due to a lack of resources and generalized paucity of geriatric training for healthcare providers. Across the region, several clinical initiatives, educational activities and research collaborations have been established to set the foundations of Ibero-American geriatric oncology and to increase the geriatric knowledge among healthcare providers. This article provides an overview of the current landscape of geriatric oncology in Ibero-America, highlighting its critical challenges, opportunities for improvement and collaboration, and future directions.

Successful Aging, a New Challenge for Developing Countries: The Coyoacán Cohort.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the socio-demographic and health factors associated with a biomedical phenotype of successful aging (SA) among Mexican community-dwelling elderly. DESIGN, SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: Cross-sectional study of 935 older adults aged 70 or older participating in the Mexican Study of Nutritional and Psychosocial Markers of Frailty. MEASUREMENTS: SA was operationalized in accordance with the phenotype proposed by Rowe and Kahn. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were carried out in order to identify the correlates of SA. RESULTS: The phenotype of SA was present in 10% of participants. Age (P < 0.001), illiteracy (P = 0.021), polypharmacy (P < 0.001), and physical pain (P < 0.001) were factors independently and inversely associated with the presence of the SA phenotype. The only variable positively associated with SA was good self-perceived health-status (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Although age is not modifiable, several other factors associated with SA are. If we are to promote SA, efforts should be made towards improving those modifiable factors negatively associated with its presence, such as pain or polypharmacy. Also, enhancing factors positively associated to it might play a role in improving wellbeing.

25-OH-Vitamin D Is Not Associated with Cognitive Performance among Mexican Community-Dwelling Older Persons.

BACKGROUND: Low cognitive performance has been associated with a wide array of adverse health-related outcomes in elderly populations. Recently, the effect of vitamin D on cognition has been studied; however, its benefits are still controversial. Moreover, most studies have been carried out on North-American and European populations where vitamin D deficiency could represent a greater public-health issue when compared to Latin American ones. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the association between 25-OH-vitamin D and cognitive performance in Mexican community-dwelling elderly. DESIGN, SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: Cross-sectional study sample of 331 community-dwelling elderly aged 70 and older, participating in the Mexican Study of Nutritional and Psychosocial Markers of Frailty. MEASUREMENTS: Serum 25-OH-vitamin D, cognitive performance as per the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and the IST (Isaacs Set Test), as well as several elements from the comprehensive geriatric assessment. RESULTS: Mean age of participants was 79.3 years (SD 5.9), 54.1% were women. The mean serum 25-OH-vitamin D level was 59.0 (SD 23.3) nmol/L while mean MMSE score was 22.3 (SD 3.4) and mean IST score was 37.1 (SD 9.1). Although 25-OH-vitamin D levels were lower across all the definitions of low cognitive perfomance, the difference between groups was not statistically significant in any of them. CONCLUSION: No association between 25-OH-vitamin D level and cognitive performance was found in this population of Mexican community-dwelling elderly. Further investigation is required in order to clarify its existence and if so, to delineate its characteristics.