Effect of age on functional anthropometry of older Mexican American adults: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

Overall goal of the research reported in this paper was to determine if, and to what extent, age affects functional anthropometry of older Mexican American adults. Primary objectives were: (1) to determine if age affects limiting functional outer fingertip and grip reaches, for women and men separately; and (2) to determine, through a cross-sectional comparison, if functional anthropometric measures of older Mexican American females and males are different from a younger group of Mexican American females and males. Determining through factor analysis, a smaller number of explanatory factors from 15 different observed functional anthropometric measures observed was a secondary objective. Older Mexican American women and men, aged 60–85, recruited from Senior Centers in El Paso, and young Mexican American adults, aged 20–29, recruited for the study from the student body at the University of Texas at El Paso, were participants in the study. Stature, several vertical fingertip and grip reaches, and several horizontal fingertip and grip reaches, among other dimensions, were measured. Linear regression models were fit for older women and men separately, with age as the independent variable and functional anthropometric dimensions as dependent variables. Two-sample t-tests were conducted to analyze cross-sectional differences between the older and young Mexican American females, and older and young Mexican American males. Regression analysis results show a significant linear relationship between age and sitting height for females ( p<0.05), and stature ( p<0.05) and sitting height ( p<0.05) for males. Cross-sectional two-sample t-tests show statistically that older Mexican American female stature, vertical fingertip reach, vertical reach angle, sitting height, horizontal fingertip reaches at 0° and 90°, horizontal lateral fingertip reach, horizontal reach angle, horizontal grip reaches (lateral, and at 0° and 90°), mean grip diameter, and finger angle, are significantly different from Mexican American young females. Stature, vertical fingertip and grip reaches, vertical reach angle, sitting height and horizontal reach angle are significantly different between older and young Mexican American males. None of the horizontal reaches were significantly different for males. Overall, functional reach differences in Mexican American women were found to be more pronounced than functional reach differences in Mexican American men. Relevance to industry Functional anthropometry affects functional performance of older persons, both in work settings, and in activities of daily living. Engineering designers, particularly, product designers and engineers in the housing industry, need to consider functional anthropometry of older persons when designing daily living environments and products of daily use for older users.