Health risk behaviors of Hispanics in the United States: findings from HHANES, 1982-84 (original) (raw)
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Addictive Behaviors, 2019
Tobacco smoking and binge or excess drinking are unhealthy behaviors that frequently co-occur. Studies of Hispanics/Latinos have mostly been of Mexican Americans although there are substantial differences in smoking and drinking by heritage background. Associated with co-use by 5 subpopulations. Methods: Cross-sectional data of 16,412 Hispanics/Latinos from Miami, the Bronx, Chicago and San Diego collected between 2008 and 2011 as part of the HCHS/SOL were analyzed. Smoking and alcohol consumption and demographic data were measured by self-report. Prevalence of smoking and alcohol consumption and co-use were reported. Logistic regression models examined the odds of co-use of smoking and binge or excess alcohol use by Hispanic/Latino background group. Results: Men of Cuban (10.3%), Puerto Rican (8.9%), and Mexican (8.9%) background had the highest prevalence of co-use of smoking and binge drinking compared to men of Central American (6.1%) and Dominican (6.6%) background. Women of Dominican (16.4%) and Puerto Rican (19.7%) background had the highest prevalence of binge drinking compared to women of Central American (10%) and Cuban (8%) background and Puerto Rican (34.1%) and Cuban (21.8%) women were the most likely to report current smoking compared to women of Central American (8.3%) and Mexican (10.4%) background. Acculturation was not associated with couse among men and women. Elevated depressive symptoms were positively associated with smoking and binge drinking among men, OR = 1.5 [1.2-2.0], and women, OR = 1.5 [1.1-2.2]. Puerto Rican women had increased odds of co-use of smoking and binge or excess drinking compared to Mexican American women, OR = 3.2 [1.5-6.6].
The Health Status and Health Behaviors of Hispanics
The rapid growth in the Hispanic population, and especially in the number of Hispanic youth, represents one of the most dramatic and important demographic trends affecting the U.S. Contemporary working-age Hispanic adults will age to become the first sizable wave of Hispanic seniors. More consequential, the large number of contemporary Hispanic children and adolescents will age to swell the ranks of Hispanic young and middle-aged adults within a decade or two. The health status and health behaviors of today’s Hispanic youth will play a central role in shaping the long-term health and health care needs not only of Hispanics in the U.S. but of all Americans. Yet efforts to provide a detailed and comprehensive description of the health and health behaviors of Hispanics are complicated by a variety of factors. Hispanics living in the U.S. represent an increasing diversity of national origin groups, and health status differs across national origin groups. Relatively new groups, such as Dominicans, Salvadorans, Guatemalans, and Colombians, have grown rapidly, adding their numbers to well-established populations of Mexican, Puerto Rican, and Cuban origin. Additionally, the health of U.S. Hispanics differs by generational status. On numerous dimensions, foreign-born Hispanics – i.e., immigrants to the U.S. – have better health indicators than their U.S.-born counterparts. Among the foreign-born, moreover, health status and health behaviors may differ by degree of acculturation to U.S. culture. In this context, the gaps in the available data on the health and health behavior of Hispanics impose serious limitations. One frequent and noteworthy problem is the lack of detailed data for subgroups of Hispanics defined by national origin and generation in the U.S. Most studies group Hispanics into a single category or focus on Hispanics of Mexican origin, who are by far the most numerous. Another problem is the relative lack of detailed epidemiologic data on the incidence and prevalence of common and important diseases, such as cardiovascular disease. Moreover, for many conditions data are unavailable to assess incidence or prevalence according to immigrant status or, among the foreign-born, by length of residence in the U.S. and degree of acculturation. Despite these limitations, researchers have learned a great deal about the health status and health behaviors of Hispanics over the last 25 years. The story that has emerged is a complex one, with some findings that warrant optimism and others that merit serious concern. The picture of both advantage and disadvantage that has surfaced must be appreciated and understood in order to develop interventions and design policies to improve Hispanic health. In this chapter, we provide an overview of the health status and health behaviors of Hispanics in the U.S. The chapter is divided into several sections: First we discuss mortality rates among Hispanics, compare them with rates for non-Hispanic whites and non-Hispanic blacks, and illustrate the variation in mortality across Hispanic national origin groups. The next three sections cover the health status and health behaviors of Hispanic adults, the health status and health behaviors of Hispanic children and adolescents, and birth outcomes. The fifth section discusses the so-called “epidemiological paradox,” one of the most fascinating findings regarding the health of Hispanics and a source of controversy since it was first described. Finally, we conclude with a summary of our findings and what they mean for the health and health care needs of future generations of Hispanics in the U.S.
Correlates of Alcohol and Tobacco Use Among Mexican Americans
2004
This study examined the relationship among sociodemographic, cultural, and psychological factors associated with alcohol and tobacco use among Mexican immigrants in the rural south. Questionnaires including sociodemographics, alcohol and tobacco use, acculturation, and stress were administered to 173 Mexican immigrants residing in rural eastern North Carolina. Gender, preimmigration use, and occupational/economic stress were significant predictors for alcohol use, with preimmigration use significant for tobacco use, suggesting that alcohol and tobacco use may be related to previous behavior, rather than acculturation to American society. Stress, setting, and preimmigration substance use would be important factors to address in the immigrant's health history.
Acculturation and Smoking Patterns Among Hispanics
American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 2005
Objective: To conduct a systematic review of published studies investigating the association of acculturation and smoking patterns among Hispanic men and women in the United States. Methods: Online bibliographic databases were searched from 1985 to 2003 using three key search terms. The methodology and findings of all retrieved articles were critically evaluated. Data were extracted from each article regarding study population, study methods, exposure assessment, outcomes measured, acculturation measures used, and results. Results: The literature search identified 78 articles from MEDLINE, PubMed, and PsychINFO databases; of these, 11 studies met the inclusion criteria. Seven regional studies based in the western United States and four nationwide studies were included in the review. Seven studies used formal acculturation scales, three used language spoken, and one used language spoken and country of birth to indicate acculturation status. Nine studies showed a positive association between acculturation and smoking among women, and one study involving men showed a negative association. Conclusions: The findings suggest that the association of acculturation and smoking is gender-specific. In this instance, increased smoking prevalence with increased acculturation is consistently observed among Hispanic women but not among men. As Hispanic women acculturate, their cigarette smoking may increase because their behavior becomes more strongly influenced by the norms and practices of the dominant group than among men. Immigrant-and gender-specific public health interventions need to be designed to combat the increase in smoking rates among Hispanics in the United States. (
The Internet Journal of Health, 2008
According to the recent United States (US) Census, Hispanics account for 12.6% of the US population. Hispanics have unique risks, disease prevalence and mortality compared to the general USA population. These risk-disease relationships have not been elucidated carefully and completely as in the other ethnic groups. In order to understand Hispanic health within the paradigm of risk, disease and mortality, the key determinants of disease or health among Hispanics in the USA will be presented and discussed. Testing of the various risk-disease associations is clearly required to understand the peculiar health risks among Hispanics and the various subgroups. This is especially significant from a public health standpoint as the Hispanic population is expected to rise in the next several decades.
Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 2009
Objective: the purpose of this study was to examine the prevalence and correlates of alcohol-related problems across four hispanic national groups: Mexican americans, puerto Ricans, cuban americans, and south/central americans. Method: using a multistage cluster sample design, 5,224 individuals ages 18 years and older were selected from the household population of five u.s. metropolitan areas: Miami, New York, philadelphia, houston, and los angeles. Results: cuban americans had the lowest prevalence of alcohol-related problems. significant differences across national group for zero versus two or more problems and for one versus two or more problems existed among men. puerto Rican women were most likely to report two or more problems. the presence of zero versus two or more problems varied significantly across groups. there was variation in problem type across national groups among both men and women. Regression analyses showed that all groups were more likely than cuban americans to report two or more problems (vs zero) (puerto Ricans: odds ratio [oR] = 2.02, p < .05; Mexican americans: oR = 2.92, p ≤ .01; south/central americans: oR = 2.12, p ≤ .01). being u.s. born (vs foreign born) increased the likelihood of experiencing one (oR = 1.57, p < .05) and two or more problems (oR = 1.95, p ≤ .01). the volume of consumption was associated with problems (one problem: oR = 1.16, p ≤ .01; two or more problems: oR = 1.31, p ≤ .01). heavy episodic drinking less than once a month was associated with two or more problems (oR = 6.15, p ≤ .01). heavy episodic drinking one or more times a month was associated with one problem (oR = 1.74, p ≤ .01) and two or more problems (oR = 3.18, p ≤ .01). Conclusions: it is important to recognize that hispanics are not a homogenous group. (J. Stud. Alcohol Drugs 70: [991][992][993][994][995][996][997][998][999] 2009)
Acculturation and smoking patterns among Hispanics - A review - eScholarship
2005
To conduct a systematic review of published studies investigating the association of acculturation and smoking patterns among Hispanic men and women in the United States. Methods Online bibliographic databases were searched from 1985 to 2003 using three key search terms. The methodology and findings of all retrieved articles were critically evaluated. Data were extracted from each article regarding study population, study methods, exposure assessment, outcomes measured, acculturation measures used, and results. Results The literature search identified 78 articles from MEDLINE, PubMed, and PsychINFO databases; of these, eleven studies met the inclusion criteria. Seven regional studies based in the western U.S. and four nationwide studies were included in the review. Seven studies utilized formal acculturation scales, three used language spoken, and one used language spoken and country of birth to indicate acculturation status. Nine studies showed a positive association between acculturation and smoking among women and one study involving men showed a negative association. Conclusion The findings suggest that the association of acculturation and smoking is gender-specific. In this instance, increased smoking prevalence with increased acculturation is consistently observed among Hispanic women but not among men. As Hispanic women acculturate, their cigarette smoking may increase because their behavior becomes more strongly influenced by the norms and practices of the dominant group than among men. Immigrant-and gender-specific public Bethel-smoking_v8.doc 3 health interventions need to be designed to combat the increase in smoking rates among Hispanic in the U.S. Bethel-smoking_v8.doc