Acculturation, Gender and Active Life Expectancy in the Mexican-Origin Population

Marc A. Garcia, University of Texas at Austin
Jacqueline L. Angel, University of Texas at Austin
Ronald Angel, University of Texas at Austin
Chi-Tsun Chiu, Academia Sinica

Objective: We explore the potential effects of nativity and acculturation on active life expectancy measured in terms of Activities of Daily Living and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living in a cohort study of older Mexican-origin men and women. Methods: We use the Hispanic Established Populations for the Epidemiologic Study of the Elderly to compute multistate life tables. Results: The number of years after sixty-five with a disability is higher for foreign-born women than native-born women. Among men, the foreign-born had lower levels of ADL. Descriptive analysis reveal women with low acculturation report a greater number of disabilities. Men manifest similar patterns for IADLs. Discussion: While foreign-born women enjoy longer life spans, they spend more time with disabilities than native-born women. Conversely, foreign-born men spend fewer years with ADL disabilities than native-born. Given the rapid aging of the Mexican-origin population, public health interventions designed to prevent functional disability merit serious attention.