Successful Aging, a New Challenge for Developing Countries: The Coyoacán Cohort

To determine the socio-demographic and health factors associated with a biomedical phenotype of successful aging (SA) among Mexican community-dwelling elderly.

Cross-sectional study of 935 older adults aged 70 or older participating in the Mexican Study of Nutritional and Psychosocial Markers of Frailty.

SA was operationalized in accordance with the phenotype proposed by Rowe and Kahn. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were carried out in order to identify the correlates of SA.

The phenotype of SA was present in 10% of participants. Age (P < 0.001), illiteracy (P = 0.021), polypharmacy (P < 0.001), and physical pain (P < 0.001) were factors independently and inversely associated with the presence of the SA phenotype. The only variable positively associated with SA was good self-perceived health-status (P < 0.001).

Although age is not modifiable, several other factors associated with SA are. If we are to promote SA, efforts should be made towards improving those modifiable factors negatively associated with its presence, such as pain or polypharmacy. Also, enhancing factors positively associated to it might play a role in improving wellbeing.