Resiliency and Barriers to Successful Aging Among Middle-Aged Mexican Immigrants Residing in a Rural Agricultural Community.

OBJECTIVES: The Latino population is one of the largest, most diverse, and fastest-growing demographic groups in the United States. Although Latinos enjoy longer life spans and reduced mortality risk relative to non-Hispanic Whites, they have higher rates of chronic health conditions such as diabetes and dementia and live more of their older years with poor health and disability. Such inequities point to the need for this research focused on examining resiliency strategies and barriers to successful aging among various U.S. Latino subgroups. METHODS: This qualitative study used thematic content analysis to examine resiliency strategies and barriers to successful aging among Mexican immigrant women (n = 40) residing in an underserved agricultural community and entering mid-life (mean = 49 years old). RESULTS: With regards to barriers to successful aging, 3 themes emerged: (1) stressful lifestyle in the United States compared to the participants' home countries; (2) stress from expectations at home; and (3) stress due to work and the various components around work. The following 4 resiliency strategies emerged: (1) family as a motivation for moving forward in life and focusing on the success of children; (2) having a positive mindset; (3) praying to God for strength to overcome obstacles; and (4) self-care. DISCUSSION: Despite experiencing barriers to successful aging, participants practice various resiliency strategies to age successfully. Because many of the barriers identified are related to poverty-related stressors, systemic solutions addressing the social determinants of health are needed.

Depressive symptoms are related with hemostatic factors in middle-aged women: A report from the Study of Women Health Across the Nation (SWAN)

OBJECTIVE: Depression may be a risk factor for coronary heart disease (CHD) morbidity and mortality, but the mechanism(s) for the association are not established. The present study examined the relationship between one possible mechanism, hemostatic factors, and depressive symptoms in middle-aged women. METHOD: We measured levels of fibrinogen, Factor VIIc, plasminogen activator inhibitor antigen-1 (PAI-1), and tissue plasminogen activator antigen (TPA-ag) in 3,016 women aged 42-52 years enrolled in the Study of Women's Health Across the Nation (SWAN). Depressive symptoms were measured by the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D), with scores > 16 suggestive of depression. RESULTS: Depressed women had high levels of all four hemostatic factors ( all p <0 .01). After controlling for age, smoking, ethnicity, prevalent cardiovascular disease, osteoarthritis, and dia-betes, and use of medications (including psychotropics), depressed women still had elevated levels of fibrinogen (mean, 95% confidence intervals 299, 304 ­ 295 mg/dl vs. 291, 294 ­ 288mg/dl, p= 0.003) and Factor VIIc (124, 127 ­ 121 ng/dl vs. 119, 121 ­ 117 ng/dl, p= 0.01) levels, compared to nondepressed women. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that hemostatic factors may be a key me-chanism accounting for the relationship between depression and CHD. [Castilla RC, Bromberger JT, Zhang Y, Perel JM, Matthews KA. Depressive symptoms are related with hemostatic factors in middle-aged women: A report from the Study of Women Health Across the Nation (SWAN). MedUNAB 2004; 7:57-64