Background: Studies have suggested that both high and low body mass index (BMI) and weight change are related to functional disability in elderly populations. Elderly Hispanics have a high prevalence of both obesity and disability, yet few studies have examined their interrelationship in this population. Therefore, we examined these relationships in a mostly Puerto Rican group of Hispanic elders.
Methods: We investigated associations between a three-level disability score created from responses to a questionnaire on activities of daily living and BMI, waist circumference (WC), and weight change since age 50, using the proportional odds model in a cross-sectional study of 763 elderly Hispanics, aged 60 to 92 years, residing in Massachusetts.
Results: After adjusting for potential confounders, men with a WC > or =109.3 cm (vs <90 cm), or with a reported weight loss of -0.32 to -0.01 kg/year, or a weight gain > or =0.55 kg/year since age 50 (vs relatively stable weight, -0.01 to +0.21 kg/year [y]) were each significantly associated with an approximately threefold higher risk for greater disability. Women with a BMI > or =35 kg/m(2) were almost four times as likely to have higher disability as those with a BMI of 20 to 25 kg/m(2). Compared with women with a WC < or =85.2 cm, those with a WC of 91.5 to 106.6 cm were two times more likely, and those with a WC > or =106.6 cm were five times more likely, to have higher disability scores. Compared with relatively stable weight (-0.05 to +0.23 kg/y), weight gain > or =0.23 kg/year was associated with a twofold higher risk of greater disability among women. When BMI and WC were included in the same model, WC, but not BMI, remained significantly associated with disability.
Conclusions: Abdominal obesity (WC > or =109.3 cm for men, or WC > or =91.5 cm for women) and weight gain > or =0.55 kg/year after age 50 in men or > or =0.23 kg/year in women may increase the risk of disability among elderly Hispanics.