To examine the factors associated with healthy aging in a cohort of Mexican adults after a follow-up of 14 years.
Participants were part of a prospective cohort of the Mexican Healthy Aging Study (MHAS), from which we included 5142 individuals aged 63 years or more.
Healthy aging, defined as reaching age 77 or 90 without major chronic conditions or physical limitations.
Information on age, education, marital status, smoking, alcohol consumption, physical activity, self-perceived depression, health conditions and history of age-related diseases was collected at baseline and follow-up.
Among the overall cohort, 57.8% experienced healthy survival to age 77 and 42.2% had died before age 77 or were undergoing normal aging. Participants with long-lived parents and who exercised had a lower risk of being non-healthy agers. Being overweight, obese or a smoker increased the risk of being a non-healthy ager. Physically active participants had increased odds of healthy aging at age 77 (OR: 1.17; 95% CI: 1.01-1.46) and at age 90 (OR: 1.5; 95% CI: 1.01-2.24). Depression had a negative relationship with healthy aging at age 90 (OR: 0.66; 95% CI: 0.45- 0.97). Maternal longevity was associated with healthy aging only at age 77 (OR = 1.34; 95% CI: 1.04-1.72).
Our findings support the view that a combination of genetic and behavioral factors is associated with healthy aging. In accordance with findings in Caucasian populations, our data suggest for the first time that there might also be a genetic determinant for healthy ageing in Latin Americans.