Former President George H.W. Bush hospitalized

HOUSTON, Dec. 23 (UPI) -- Former U.S. President George H.W. Bush was hospitalized Tuesday in Houston after he experienced shortness of breath, a statement from his office said.

The 90-year-old was taken to Methodist Hospital in the evening.

"The former president, age 90, will be held for observation, again as a precaution," the statement read.

Bush, who is confined to a wheelchair, was hospitalized for two months from November 2012 to January 2013 for complications from bronchitis.

He was first elected president in 1988 and is the country's oldest living president.