Association Between Lower Extremity Performance and Health-Related Quality of Life in Elderly Mexican Americans.

OBJECTIVE To examine the longitudinal association between levels of lower extremity performance (LEP) and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in older Mexican Americans aged 72 years or older participating in the Hispanic Established Population for the Epidemiological Study of the Elderly (2000-2006). METHOD LEP was measured in 621 non-institutionalized participants with the Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB). Participants were divided into high (SPPB score 10-12), intermediate (SPPB score 7-9), and low (SPPB score 0-6) groups based on LEP. HRQoL was assessed using the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form (SF-36), which includes a Physical Composite Scale (PCS) and a Mental Composite Scale (MCS). RESULTS Participants in the high LEP group had slower rates of decline in the PCS, and those in the intermediate LEP group had slower rates of decline in the MCS score over time. DISCUSSION Increased LEP was associated with slower rates of decline in physical and mental HRQoL in older Mexican Americans.