Introduction:
Persons of Hispanic origin are a growing share of the U.S. population but include diverse ethnic groups with unique cultures, lifestyles, exposures, and countries of origin. Hispanics are disproportionately affected by cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors in comparison to non-Hispanics. However, few studies have examined the heterogeneity in their burden of CVD risk.
Hypothesis:
We hypothesized that there would be significant heterogeneity in the prevalence of CVD risk factors among ethnic subgroups of Hispanic adults.
Methods:
We used a cross-sectional design to examine the prevalence of CVD risk factors, defined per national guidelines, among Hispanic adults in the 2010-2018 National Health Interview Surveys. Generalized linear models using Poisson distribution were fitted to obtain adjusted predicted probabilities and risk of self-reported hypertension, overweight/obesity, diabetes, high cholesterol, physical inactivity, and current smoking by Hispanic ethnic subgroup.
Results:
We included 185,511 participants with mean(±sd) age 31(0.2) years and 50% male. Most were Mexican (65.1%) whereas, few were Dominican (3.0%). Prevalence of hypertension (28.4%), diabetes (12.9%), high cholesterol (25.0%), and current smoking (6.1%) was highest among Puerto Ricans. Prevalence of overweight/obesity was highest among Mexicans (74.5%) and physical inactivity was highest among Dominicans (62.3%). Compared to Mexicans, Central Americans were less likely to smoke and have hypertension, overweight/obesity, and diabetes (ps<0.05). (
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Conclusion:
We observed striking heterogeneity in the prevalence of CVD risk factors across Hispanic ethnic subgroups, especially for diabetes, physical inactivity, and smoking. These results suggest that aggregating data on Hispanics may mask differences in CVD risk and hinder efforts to reduce health disparities in this population. Our findings provide actionable information on CVD risk factors for specific Hispanic ethnic subgroups.
Clinical application of bergamot (Citrus bergamia) for reducing high cholesterol and cardiovascular disease markers