Resource Report

URL: http://www.mhasweb.org/

Proper Citation: Mexican Health and Aging Study (RRID:SCR_000818)

Description: A dataset of a prospective panel study of health and aging in Mexico. The study was designed to ensure comparability with the U.S. Health and Retirement Study in many domains, and the NHANES III. The baseline survey in 2001 is nationally representative of the 13 million Mexicans born prior to 1951. The six Mexican states which are home to 40% of all migrants to the U.S. were over-sampled at a rate of 1.7:1. Spouse/partners of eligible respondents were interviewed also, even if the spouse was born after 1950. Completed interviews were obtained in 9,862 households, for a total of 15,186 individual interviews. All interviews were face-to-face, with average duration of 82 minutes. A direct interview (on the Basic questionnaire) was sought, and Proxy interviews were obtained when poor health or temporary absence precluded a direct interview. Questionnaire topics included the following: * HEALTH MEASURES: self-reports of conditions, symptoms, functional status, hygienic behaviors (e.g., smoking & drinking history), use/source/costs of health care services, depression, pain, reading and cognitive performance; * BACKGROUND: Childhood health and living conditions, education, ability to read/write and count, migration history, marital history; * FAMILY: rosters of all children (including deceased children); for each, demographic attributes, summary indicators of childhood and current health, education, current work status, migration. Parent and sibling migration experiences; * TRANSFERS: financial and time help given to and received by respondent from children, indexed to specific child; time and financial help to parent; * ECONOMIC: sources and amounts of income, including wages, pensions, and government subsidies; type and value of assets. All amount variables are bracketed in case of non-response. * HOUSING ENVIRONMENT: type, location, building materials, other indicators of quality, and ownership of consumer durables; * ANTHROPOMETRIC: for a 20% sub-sample, measured weight, height; waist, hip, and calf circumference; knee height, and timed one-leg stands. Current plans are to conduct another two follow-up surveys in 2012 and 2014 and will field the 3rd and 4th waves of survey data collection in Mexico. For the 2012 wave, interviews will be sought for: every person who was part of the panel in 2003 and their new spouse / partner, if applicable, and a new sample of persons born between 1952 and 1962. For the 2014 wave, we will follow-up the whole sample from 2012. Interviews will be conducted person-to-person. Direct interviews will be sought with all informants, but proxy interviews are allowed for those unable to complete their own interview for health or cognitive reasons. A next-of-kin interview will be completed with a knowledgeable respondent for those who were part of the panel but have died since the last interview. A sub-sample will be selected to obtain objective markers such as blood sample and anthropometric measures. Data Availability: The 2001 baseline data, 2003 follow-up data, and documentation can be downloaded. * Dates of Study: 2001-2003 * Study Features: Longitudinal, International, Anthropometric Measures * Sample Size: 2001: 15,186 (Baseline) Link: * ICPSR: http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/icpsrweb/ICPSR/studies/00142

Abbreviations: MHAS

Synonyms: Mexican Health & Aging Study, Mexican Health and Aging Study (MHAS)

Resource Type: biomaterial supply resource, material resource

Keywords: health, mexican, adult human, mexico, longitudinal, international, anthropometric measure, middle adult human, late adult human, interview, survey, spouse, health behavior, health status, childhood, family background, migration, income, housing environment, family life, behavior, housing, living arrangement, mental health, quality of life, questionnaire, disease, disability, economic, family, urban, rural, blood, self-report, chronic condition, symptom report, functionality, cognition, socioeconomic, work history, health insurance, health expenditure, parent, child, household resident, asset, pension, smoking, alcohol use, depressive disorder, pain, reading, education, demographics, employment