Length of Residence and Cardiovascular Health among Afro-Caribbean Immigrants in New York City

Introduction: Research on cardiovascular health (CVH) and risk factors among immigrants has been well-documented. Less is known about social influences on CVH, among black immigrants. Despite having the largest population of black immigrants in the U.S., Afro-Caribbean (AC) immigrants have been underrepresented in health research. We examined the social determinants of CVH among AC immigrants (Guyanese, Haitian and Jamaican) in New York City (NYC). Hypothesis: We hypothesized that social determinants of CVH will vary among the three ethnic sub-groups of AC immigrants. Methods: We included 1691 AC immigrants who reported their race as non-Hispanic Black and country of birth (COB) as Guyana (n= 369), Haiti (n= 291) or Jamaica (n= 1031) in the 2010-2014 administrations of the New York City Community Health Survey. Logistic regression analysis was performed to assess the association between social determinants and CVH (ideal vs intermediate/poor) using AHA’s CVH metrics. Results: The majority of the sample was female (59.2%) and reported high school education or less (53.9%). Most AC immigrants reported to have ideal CVH (71.3%). Education was significantly associated with CVH only among Jamaican immigrants. Jamaican immigrants with ≤ high school education were more likely to have intermediate/poor CVH compared to those with ≥ some college education. Conclusions: These findings suggest that social determinants influencing CVH differ among AC immigrant sub-groups in NYC. These findings suggest that social determinants influencing CVH differ among AC immigrant sub-groups in NYC. National surveillance efforts should obtain more complete data on country of origin and oversample racial/ethnic minority groups in order to better understand their CVH outcomes. Future research should examine other social factors that may influence CVH among black immigrants.

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The (non-) acquisition of New York City vowels by two generations of Caribbean immigrants

Language Sciences ◽

10.1016/j.langsci.2014.11.003 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 48 ◽

pp. 48-61

Author(s):

Patrick-André Mather

Keyword(s):

New York ◽

New York City ◽

York City ◽

Caribbean Immigrants ◽

Two Generations

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Ethnic Restaurant Nutrition Environments and Cardiovascular Health: Examining Hispanic Caribbean Restaurants in New York City

Ethnicity & Disease ◽

10.18865/ed.30.4.583 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 30 (4) ◽

pp. 583-592

Author(s):

Melissa Fuster ◽

Enrique R. Pouget ◽

Margaret A. Handley ◽

Krishnendu Ray ◽

Brian Elbel ◽

...

Keyword(s):

New York ◽

New York City ◽

Puerto Rican ◽

York City ◽

Cardiovascular Health ◽

Nutrition Environment ◽

Hispanic Caribbean ◽

Price Range ◽

Size Type ◽

Food Offerings

Objective: To adapt and apply the Nutrition Environment Measures Survey for Restaurants (NEMS-R) to Hispanic Caribbean (HC) restaurants and examine associations between restaurant characteristics and nutrition environment measures.Methods: We adapted the NEMS-R for HC cuisines (Cuban, Puerto Rican, Dominican) and cardiovascular health-promoting factors, and applied the instrument (NEMS-HCR) to a random sample of HC restaurants in New York City (NYC) (N=89). Multivariable linear regression was used to assess independent associations between NEMS-HCR score and restaurant characteristics (cuisine, size, type [counter-style vs sit-down] and price).Results: None of the menus in the restaurants studied listed any main dishes as “healthy” or “light.” More than half (52%) offered mostly (>75%) nonfried main dishes, and 76% offered at least one vegetarian option. The most common facilitator to healthy eating was offering reduced portion sizes (21%) and the most common barrier was having salt shakers on tables (40%). NEMS-HCR scores (100-point scale) ranged from 24.1-55.2 (mean=39.7). In multivariable analyses, scores were significantly related to cuisine (with Puerto Rican cuisine scoring lower than Cuban and Dominican cuisines), and size (with small [<22 seats] restaurants scoring lower than larger restaurants). We found a significant quadratic association with midpoint price, suggesting that scores increased with increasing price in the lowest price range, did not vary in the middle range, and decreased with increasing price in the highest range.Conclusions: Our application of the NEMS-R to HC restaurants in NYC revealed areas for potential future interventions to improve food offerings and environmental cues to encourage healthful choices. Ethn Dis. 2020;30(4):583-592; doi:10.18865/ed.30.4.592

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Examining Community Restaurant Nutrition Environments for Cardiovascular Health: An Assessment of Hispanic Caribbean Restaurants in New York City

Current Developments in Nutrition ◽

10.1093/cdn/nzaa043_035 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 4 (Supplement_2) ◽

pp. 184-184

Author(s):

Melissa Fuster ◽

Enrique Pouget ◽

Eddie Nelson Sakowitz ◽

Kayla Halvey ◽

Krishnendu Ray ◽

...

Keyword(s):

New York ◽

New York City ◽

Puerto Rican ◽

York City ◽

Cardiovascular Health ◽

Size Category ◽

Nutrition Environment ◽

Hispanic Caribbean ◽

Funding Sources ◽

Food Offerings

Abstract Objectives Examine the nutrition environment in Hispanic Caribbean (HC) restaurants, and identify restaurant-level factors associated with healthier nutrition restaurant environments. Methods We adapted the Nutrition Environment Measure Survey for Restaurants (NEMS-R) to HC cuisines and applied the instrument (NEMS-HCR) to a random sample of Cuban, Puerto Rican, and Dominican restaurants in New York City (n = 89). Descriptive and regression analysis examined the associations between the NEMS-HCR score and restaurant characteristics (HC cuisine, restaurant type, and midpoint price). Results No restaurant offered dishes labeled as healthy and almost none (2%) offered whole grains or fruit. Half of the restaurants (52%) had menus with a large proportion (>75%) of nonfried (NF) main dishes and three-quarters (76%) offered at least one vegetarian option. The most common environmental facilitator to healthy eating was offering reduced portion sizes (21%) and the most common barrier was having salt shakers on tables (40%). NEMS-HCR scores (100-point scale) ranged from 24.1–55.2 (mean = 39.7). Scores varied by cuisine and size category, but not by restaurant type (sit-down vs fast casual). Puerto Rican restaurants had the lowest mean score, compared with Dominican and Cuban restaurants (33.7 ± 6.8, 39.6 ± 6.4, 43.3 ± 6.9, respectively, P < 0.001). Small restaurants (<22 seats) had significantly lowest scores, compared with large and medium sized (36.7 ± 7.1, 41.3 ± 7.2, 41.6 ± 6.1, respectively, P < 0.05). Multivariate regression indicated that HC cuisine, restaurant size, and price were significantly associated with the score (P < 0.05). Price was found to have a significant quadratic association, where lower scores were found among lower and higher priced restaurants. Conclusions HC communities present more dietary risk factors than other Hispanic groups. Our study is the first to adapt and apply the NEMS-R to HC restaurants. Restaurants are increasingly important daily sources of food. As interventions targeting individual behavior change have shown limited impact, restaurants represent an important environmental target for health promotion. The assessment showed areas for potential improvements in food offerings and environmental cues to encourage healthful choices in HC restaurants. Funding Sources CUNY PSC Award and NIH/NHLBI Career Development Award (K01).

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Trends in Thoracic Impedance and Arrhythmia Burden Among Patients with Implanted Cardiac Defibrillators During the COVID-19 Pandemic

10.1101/2021.02.27.21252559 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Yuan Lu ◽

Karthik Murugiah ◽

Paul W Jones ◽

César Caraballo ◽

Shiwani Mahajan ◽

...

Keyword(s):

New York ◽

New York City ◽

Remote Monitoring ◽

York City ◽

Cardiovascular Health ◽

Saint Paul ◽

Population Level ◽

Thoracic Impedance ◽

Cardiac Status ◽

True Population

ABSTRACTHospitalizations for acute cardiac conditions have markedly declined during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, yet the cause of this decline is not clear. Using remote monitoring data of 4,029 patients with implantable cardiac defibrillators (ICDs) living in New York City and Minneapolis/Saint Paul, we assessed changes in markers of cardiac status among these patients and compared thoracic impedance and arrhythmia burden in 2019 and 2020 from January through August. We found no change in several key disease decompensation markers among patients with implanted ICD devices during the first phase of COVID-19 pandemic, suggesting that the decrease in cardiovascular hospitalizations in this period is not reflective of a true population-level improvement in cardiovascular health.

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Perceived spatial stigma, body mass index and blood pressure: a global positioning system study among low-income housing residents in New York City

Geospatial health ◽

10.4081/gh.2016.399 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 11 (2) ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Dustin T. Duncan ◽

Ryan R. Ruff ◽

Basile Chaix ◽

Seann D. Regan ◽

James H. Williams ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Blood Pressure ◽

Body Mass Index ◽

New York ◽

New York City ◽

Low Income ◽

York City ◽

Household Income ◽

Cardiovascular Health ◽

Global Positioning ◽

Low Income Housing

Previous research has highlighted the salience of spatial stigma on the lives of low-income residents, but has been theoretical in nature and/or has predominantly utilised qualitative methods with limited generalisability and ability to draw associations between spatial stigma and measured cardiovascular health outcomes. The primary objective of this study was to evaluate relationships between perceived spatial stigma, body mass index (BMI), and blood pressure among a sample of low-income housing residents in New York City (NYC). Data come from the community-based NYC Low-income Housing, Neighborhoods and Health Study. We completed a crosssectional analysis with survey data, which included the four items on spatial stigma, as well objectively measured BMI and blood pressure data (analytic n=116; 96.7% of the total sample). Global positioning systems (GPS) tracking of the sample was conducted for a week. In multivariable models (controlling for individual-level age, gender, race/ethnicity, education level, employment status, total household income, neighborhood percent non-Hispanic Black and neighborhood median household income) we found that participants who reported living in an area with a bad neighborhood reputation had higher BMI (B=4.2, 95%CI: -0.01, 8.3, P=0.051), as well as higher systolic blood pressure (B=13.2, 95%CI: 3.2, 23.1, P=0.01) and diastolic blood pressure (B=8.5, 95%CI: 2.8, 14.3, P=0.004). In addition, participants who reported living in an area with a bad neighborhood reputation had increased risk of obesity/overweight [relative risk (RR)=1.32, 95%CI: 1.1, 1.4, P=0.02) and hypertension/pre-hypertension (RR=1.66, 95%CI: 1.2, 2.4, P=0.007). However, we found no differences in spatial mobility (based GPS data) among participants who reported living in neighborhoods with and without spatial stigma (P>0.05). Further research is needed to investigate how placebased stigma may be associated with impaired cardiovascular health among individuals in stigmatised neighborhoods to inform effective cardiovascular risk reduction interventions.

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