Multimorbidity, Muscle Strength, and Falls among Older Mexican Americans

Objectives: Multimorbidity is linked with an increased risk of falls in older adults. The study objective is to determine the relationship of multimorbidity and muscle strength in falls among older Mexican Americans without a history of falls at baseline. Design: Longitudinal study. Setting and Participants: This 12-year prospective cohort study included 899 noninstitutionalized Mexican Americans aged ≥75 years residing in Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas from the Hispanic Established Population for the Epidemiologic Study of the Elderly (HEPESE). Methods: Measures include the following: sociodemographics, medical conditions, body mass index, disability, handgrip strength (HGS), depressive symptoms, pain, cognitive function, and multimorbidity (≥2 self-reported medical conditions). Participants at baseline were divided into the following 4 groups: high HGS and multimorbidity (n = 349), low HGS and multimorbidity (n = 263), high HGS and without multimorbidity (n = 181), and low HGS and without multimorbidity (n = 104). Generalized estimating equation models estimated the odds ratio (OR) and 95% CI for falls as a function of multimorbidity and HGS group, controlling for all covariates. Results: The mean sample age ± SD was 81.0 ± 4.3 years, and 55.9% were female. The OR for falls was 0.70 (95% CI, 0.52–0.94) for those with multimorbidity and high HGS, 0.50 (95% CI, 0.32–0.80) for those without multimorbidity and high HGS, and 0.46 (95% CI, 0.29–0.74) for those without multimorbidity and low HGS, vs those with multimorbidity and low HGS, after controlling for all covariates. Conclusions and Implications: Mexican American older adults with multimorbidity and high HGS had a 30% decreased risk of falls over time. Increasing muscle strength through exercise may help prevent falls among those with multimorbidity.