BACKGROUND: Depressive symptoms are common in older adults and predict functional dependency. AIMS: To examine the ability of depressive symptoms to predict low physical performance over 20 years of follow-up among older Mexican Americans who scored moderate to high in the Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB) test and were non-disabled at baseline. METHODS: Data were from the Hispanic Established Population for the Epidemiologic Study of the Elderly. Our sample included 1,545 community dwelling Mexican American men and women aged 65 and older. Measures included socio-demographics, depressive symptoms, SPPB, handgrip strength, activities of daily living, body mass index (BMI), mini-mental state examination, and self-reports of various medical conditions. General Equation Estimation was used to estimate the odds ratio of developing low physical performance over time as a function of depressive symptoms. RESULTS: The mean SPPB score at baseline was 8.6 ± 1.4 for those with depressive symptoms and 9.1 ± 1.4 for those without depressive symptoms. The odds ratio of developing low physical performance over time was 1.53 (95% Confidence Interval = 1.27-1.84) for those with depressive symptoms compared with those without depressive symptoms, after controlling for all covariates. CONCLUSION: Depressive symptoms were a predictor of low physical performance in older Mexican Americans over a 20-year follow-up period. Interventions aimed at preventing decline in physical performance in older adults should address management of their depressive symptoms.
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