Vascular Depression and Function in Older Latinos

描述（由申请人提供）：升高的抑郁症状影响了近26%的老年墨西哥裔美国人，但很少（9.1%）接受治疗。老年墨西哥裔美国人的糖尿病（33%）、高血压（62%）和抑郁症状的发病率很高，这些都是与脑血管疾病相关的风险。随着拉美裔人口的快速增长，拉美裔人脑血管疾病的高发率和卒中预防意识较低，这是一个迫在眉睫的公共卫生问题。目前对大多数未经治疗的抑郁症的病程和进展知之甚少，特别是在这个庞大且快速增长的人口中，它与脑血管疾病有关。拟议研究计划的总体目标是发展和完善纵向的方法，以人群为基础的研究抑郁症和脑血管疾病及其与老年墨西哥裔美国人认知和功能状态的关系。萨克拉门托地区拉丁裔老龄化研究（SALSA）是一项以人口为基础的纵向队列研究，研究对象为1,789名主要是墨西哥裔的老年拉丁裔。SALSA具有代表性的样本，这使得它成为研究与抑郁症相关的认知和功能障碍以及衰退的预测因素的特别有价值的数据来源。本研究将解决有关老年美籍墨西哥人抑郁和脑血管疾病风险因素的重要研究问题，同时为候选人的职业发展提供工具。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Elevated depressive symptoms affect nearly 26 percent of older Mexican Americans, but very few (9.1 percent) receive treatment. Older Mexican Americans have high rates of diabetes (33 percent), hypertension (62 percent) and depressive symptoms, which are risks associated with cerebrovascular disease. High rates of cerebrovascular disease risks and low stroke prevention awareness among Latinos presents a looming public health problem as this large population continues to rapidly grow. Currently little is known about the course and progression of mostly untreated depression, particularly as it relates to cerebrovascular disease in this large and rapidly growing population. The overall goal of the proposed research plan is to develop and refine methods for a longitudinal, population-based study of depression and cerebrovascular disease and their association with cognitive and functional status of older Mexican Americans. The Sacramento Area Latino Study on Aging (SALSA) is a population-based, longitudinal cohort study of 1,789 older Latinos of primarily Mexican descent. SALSA has a representative sample, which makes it an especially valuable data source for studying the predictors of cognitive and functional impairment and decline that are associated with depression. The proposed study will address important research questions concerning depression and cerebrovascular disease risk factors among older Mexican Americans, while providing a vehicle for the career development of the candidate.