# The Mexican Health Aging Study (MHAS)

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS MED BR GALVESTON · 2024 · $488,940

## Abstract

The Mexican Health and Aging Study (MHAS) is a longitudinal study using a national sample of community-dwelling
adults aged 50 and older in urban and rural Mexico. Six waves of data collection over 20 years have
been completed. Since its inception, the protocols and survey instruments are highly comparable to the U.S.
Health and Retirement Study (HRS), A key ancillary study of the MHAS is the Mex-Cog, part of the
Harmonized Cognitive Aging Protocol (HCAP), conducted in several countries to study Alzheimer's disease
and related dementias (ADRD) around the globe using population-based surveys like the MHAS. Two waves of
the Mex-Cog have been completed.
The long-term goal is to create new knowledge on aging and ADRD for Mexican older adults using a
population-based life course perspective. The MHAS is uniquely positioned to sustain research on emerging
themes such as COVID-19 and the related social inequities it revealed, providing a strong rationale for adding
follow-ups of the MHAS and Mex-Cog, and incorporating new themes to address these knowledge gaps, The
specific aims are to: 1) Support further research on the dynamics of aging in Mexico, by extending and
improving an existing national panel study, the MHAS. 2) Support further research on the dynamics of
Alzheimer's disease and related dementias around the globe, by extending an existing panel of Mex-Cog, an
ancillary study of the MHAS; and 3) Foster research on the dynamics of Mexican aging by expanding the
knowledge about and promoting the use of the databases and its related products. We will carry out waves 7
and 8 of the MHAS and Wave 3 of the Mex-Cog, We will add a rural over-sample, and incorporate new
themes: COVID-19, discrimination, use of languages, and use of technology for health care. We will collect
saliva samples in Mex-Cog 3 to support research on genetics of Alzheimer's disease. We will continue the
user-friendly web-based platforms and launch a new virtual data enclave to enhance global public access to
the data and project documentation.
The analytical significance of the new MHAS data will be exceptional, producing a national longitudinal study of
aging that spans over twenty-six years, which is unique for a low or middle-income country, The data platform
will enhance research on aging in general and ADRD more specifically, and related changes of physical and
mental health; physical and cognitive functionality; COVID-19 and other environmental risks; health behaviors
and health care use; family support; aging and the life course; wealth, income, labor and retirement; Mexico-U.S. migration; and mortality in a country aging fast with limited institutional support for individuals in old age,
and with close social and economic ties to the United States. The data will enable cross-period and cross-cohort
analyses, as well as short- and long-run effects on health and aging, and will continue to be highly
comparable with similar studies in other countries.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10833166
- **Project number:** 5R01AG018016-17
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS MED BR GALVESTON
- **Principal Investigator:** Rebeca Wong
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $488,940
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 1999-09-30 → 2024-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10833166

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10833166, The Mexican Health Aging Study (MHAS) (5R01AG018016-17). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10833166. Licensed CC0.

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