Fogarty International Research Collaboration Award

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This FIRCA application describes a proposed collaboration between a currently funded NIH project titled, "Disablement Process in Mexican American Older Adults" (2R01 AG017638, K. Ottenbacher, PI), and the Institute de Envejecimiento (Institute on Aging) at the Pontifica Universidad Javeriana in Bogota, Columbia (Carlos Cano, M.D., Director) The collaborative research will examine the disablement process in Latino older adults using two existing databases - the Hispanic Established Populations Epidemiologic Study of the Elderly (Hispanic EPESE) and the Health, Well-Being and Aging in Latin America and the Caribbean (Salud, Bienestar y Envejecimiento) SABE project. The specific aims for the proposed FIRCA research are to: 1. Compare the incidence of frailty in two large population-based samples of Latino older adults: the Hispanic EPESE and the SABE study. 2. Determine whether level of mental health function (cognition and depressive symptoms) can be used to identify Latino older adults at risk of developing frailty in the Hispanic EPESE and SABE databases. 3. Examine whether associations between frailty and health outcomes (such as disability, falls, and hospitalization) are moderated by level of mental health function (cognition and depressive symptoms) in Latino older adults (Hispanic EPESE and SABE databases). These specific aims are a direct extension of the research aims of the parent grant and extend the NIH funded research in two important ways. First, the aims expand the study of disability and frailty to include a database representing Latin American populations outside of the U.S. (SABE). Second, the proposed research will provide new information regarding the relationship between cognitive function and frailty/disability in samples of Latin American older adults from different countries and cultures. The U.S. based research team has an established record of collaborative research involving Latin American older adults. The PI is director of the university's PAHO/WHO Collaborating Center on Aging and Health and has previous experience working with investigators from Columbia.