Collective violence and the health of the elderly: a cross-sectional analysis of a population-based national survey in Mexico

OBJECTIVE. To describe the association between collective violence and the health of older adults in Mexico. METHODS. The data analyzed were taken from a Mexican population-based national survey of health and nutrition that included a representative sample of adults over 60 years of age and from an index of violence for each of the states of Mexico that was compiled by a major research center. Five of the most common geriatric ailments (weight loss, depressive symptoms, falls, positive affectivity, and disability) were crossed with the violence index score assigned to each state. RESULTS. A total of 7 108 older adults were included in the analysis. Among the five geriatric health problems, weight loss had the strongest association with violence, even when an adjusted model was used. For weight loss, that association increased as the level of collective violence rose. With the adjusted model, there was also an association of severe collective violence with disability and with low positive affectivity. CONCLUSIONS. Our results show that there is an association of collective violence with weight loss and other geriatric problems. Collective violence could indirectly affect individuals’ health, especially older persons and other vulnerable groups.