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Hispanic Americans (hispanic + american)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Medical Sciences	81%

Selected Abstracts

Intrabdominal fat is related to metabolic risk factors in Hispanic Americans, African Americans and in girls

ACTA PAEDIATRICA, Issue 12 2009
K Casazza
Abstract Aim:, This study aimed to test the association of individual adipose depots on cardiometabolic outcomes, whether the association varied by depot and if the associations differed by race/ethnicity or gender in early pubertal children. Methods:, Three hundred and twenty children (53% male) aged 7,12 years self-identified as African American (AA; n = 114), European American (EA; n = 120) or Hispanic American (HA; n = 86) participated. Insulin dynamics were assessed by intravenous glucose tolerance test; body composition with DXA; fat distribution with CT. Results:, AA had the least fat in each depot and HA had the most. Fat accumulation negatively impacted cardiometabolic outcomes independent of race/ethnicity or gender. AA and females were reproductively more mature. In AA and HA, each measure of adiposity influenced the insulin sensitivity index (SI), whereas intra-abdominal adipose tissue (IAAT) did not contribute to SI in EA. IAAT was positively associated with blood pressure in AA only. In females, adiposity adversely influenced cardiometabolic outcomes such that total fat mass, IAAT and/or SAAT was inversely associated with SI, and positively associated with blood pressure and fasting insulin. Conclusion:, IAAT is uniquely related to metabolic risk factors in Hispanic Americans, African Americans and girls, suggesting that either the threshold for adverse effects of IAAT is lower, or the IAAT metabolism differs in these groups. [source]

Higher fasting insulin but lower fasting C-peptide levels in African Americans in the US population,

DIABETES/METABOLISM: RESEARCH AND REVIEWS, Issue 2 2002
Maureen I. Harris
Abstract Background Fasting serum insulin and fasting serum C-peptide are risk factors for developing type 2 diabetes. Because of the higher incidence of type 2 diabetes in African Americans and Hispanic Americans, it is likely that these groups may differ from non-Hispanic whites in their levels of insulin and C-peptide. Methods We analyzed data from a nationally representative sample of adults in the US population for whom sociodemographic, clinical, and laboratory information were obtained. The data were used to describe distributions of fasting insulin and fasting C-peptide in non-Hispanic white, non-Hispanic black, and Mexican American men and women aged ,20 years without a medical history of diabetes. Results Among men, Mexican Americans had higher insulin values than non-Hispanic whites and blacks. Among women, both Mexican Americans and blacks had higher insulin values than whites. For C-peptide, differences by sex and race-ethnicity paralleled those seen for fasting insulin with the exception that black men had significantly lower C-peptide values than whites and Mexican Americans. After adjustment for age, fasting plasma glucose (FPG), body mass index (BMI), and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), the higher levels for insulin in blacks and Mexican Americans remained; both black men and women had significantly lower C-peptide values than whites and Mexican Americans. The molar ratio of fasting C-peptide to fasting insulin was similar for men and women in each race-ethnic group. However, blacks had substantially lower ratios than whites and Mexican Americans. Conclusions We found wide variations in fasting insulin and fasting C-peptide levels by race and ethnicity in US adults that were not explained by confounding factors, primarily measures of obesity. Most notably, the higher fasting insulin and lower fasting C-peptide levels in blacks implies that there is a derangement in insulin clearance and an impairment in beta-cell function in blacks compared with whites and Mexican Americans. Published in 2002 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

Assessment of Family Functioning in Caucasian and Hispanic Americans: Reliability, Validity, and Factor Structure of the Family Assessment Device

FAMILY PROCESS, Issue 4 2007
GREGORY A. AARONS PH.D.
The purpose of this study was to examine the factor structure, reliability, and validity of the Family Assessment Device (FAD) among a national sample of Caucasian and Hispanic American families receiving public sector mental health services. A confirmatory factor analysis conducted to test model fit yielded equivocal findings. With few exceptions, indices of model fit, reliability, and validity were poorer for Hispanic Americans compared with Caucasian Americans. Contrary to our expectation, an exploratory factor analysis did not result in a better fitting model of family functioning. Without stronger evidence supporting a reformulation of the FAD, we recommend against such a course of action. Findings highlight the need for additional research on the role of culture in measurement of family functioning. [source]

Cognitive and Functional Decline in Adults Aged 75 and Older

JOURNAL OF AMERICAN GERIATRICS SOCIETY, Issue 12 2002
Sandra A. Black PhD
OBJECTIVES: To simultaneously examine the influence of functional disability on the development of cognitive impairment and the influence of cognitive status on the development of functional disability over time and compare findings across ethnic groups. DESIGN: A population-based longitudinal study. SETTING: Galveston County, Texas. PARTICIPANTS: Three hundred sixty-five community-dwelling Hispanic Americans, African Americans, and non-Hispanic whites, aged 75 and older. MEASUREMENTS: Baseline measures included demographics, self-reported chronic medical conditions, functional disability, and cognitive status. Longitudinal measures included functional decline and cognitive decline. RESULTS: Substantial functional decline was associated with each additional error on the mental status measure; substantial cognitive decline was associated with each additional antecedent disability. These findings were evident across all three ethnic groups, even when taking into account the effects of demographic factors and chronic health conditions, although the specific chronic health conditions that influenced cognitive and functional decline were found to vary across the three ethnic groups. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that, rather than simply being correlated markers of increasing frailty, cognitive and functional decline appear to influence the development of one another. Clinicians need to be aware of these associations, which may affect the direction of preventive care and rehabilitation in the oldest old. Appropriate intervention may result in the prevention or delay of functional disability and cognitive decline. Awareness of the specific chronic health conditions that increase the risk for cognitive or functional decline in various ethnic groups, and the effect of comorbid disease, may also help efforts to prevent decline in older adults. [source]

Disparities in Alcohol-Related Problems Among White, Black, and Hispanic Americans

ALCOHOLISM, Issue 4 2009
Nina Mulia
Background:, This study assesses racial/ethnic disparities in negative social consequences of drinking and alcohol dependence symptoms among white, black, and Hispanic Americans. We examine whether and how disparities relate to heavy alcohol consumption and pattern, and the extent to which social disadvantage (poverty, unfair treatment, and racial/ethnic stigma) accounts for observed disparities. Methods:, We analyzed data from the 2005 U.S. National Alcohol Survey, a nationally representative telephone-based survey of adults ages 18 and older (N = 6,919). Given large racial/ethnic differences in abstinence rates, core analyses were restricted to current drinkers (N = 4,080). Logistic regression was used to assess disparities in alcohol-related problems at 3 levels of heavy drinking, measured using a composite variable incorporating frequency of heavy episodic drinking, frequency of drunkenness, and maximum amount consumed in a single day. A mediational approach was used to assess the role of social disadvantage. Results:, African American and Hispanic drinkers were significantly more likely than white drinkers to report social consequences of drinking and alcohol dependence symptoms. Even after adjusting for differences in heavy drinking and demographic characteristics, disparities in problems remained. The racial/ethnic gap in alcohol problems was greatest among those reporting little or no heavy drinking, and gradually diminished to nonsignificance at the highest level of heavy drinking. Social disadvantage, particularly in the form of racial/ethnic stigma, appeared to contribute to racial/ethnic differences in problems. Conclusions:, These findings suggest that to eliminate racial/ethnic disparities in alcohol-related problems, public health efforts must do more than reduce heavy drinking. Future research should address the possibility of drink size underestimation, identify the particular types of problems that disproportionately affect racial/ethnic minorities, and investigate social and cultural determinants of such problems. [source]

Ethnic variation in lower oesophageal sphincter pressure and length

ALIMENTARY PHARMACOLOGY & THERAPEUTICS, Issue 5 2008
K. J. VEGA
Summary Background, Oesophageal manometry (OM) is used to diagnose oesophageal motor disorders. Normal values of OM among United States ethnic groups are only available for Hispanic Americans (HA). Aim, To obtain normal values of OM in adult African American (AA) volunteers, compare these with those obtained in HA and non-Hispanic white (nHw) volunteers to determine if ethnic variation in normal oesophageal motor function exists. Methods, Healthy AA, HA and nHw were recruited from the Jacksonville metropolitan area. Ethnicity was self-reported. Exclusion criteria were symptoms suggestive of oesophageal disease, medication use or concurrent illness affecting OM. All underwent OM using a solid-state system with wet swallows. Resting lower oesophageal sphincter (LOS) pressure and LOS length were measured at mid-expiration, while per cent peristaltic contractions, distal oesophageal contraction velocity, amplitude and duration were measured after 5 cc water swallows. Results, Fifty-six AA, 20 HA and 48 nHw were enrolled. All completed OM. AA had significantly higher resting LOS pressure, LOS length and distal oesophageal contraction duration than nHw (P < 0.05). Conclusions, Significant ethnic exist in OM findings between AA and nHw. These underscore the need for ethnic specific reference values for OM to allow for correct diagnosis of oesophageal motor disorders in AA. [source]

Diversity in academic medicine no. 1 case for minority faculty development today

MOUNT SINAI JOURNAL OF MEDICINE: A JOURNAL OF PERSONALIZED AND TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE, Issue 6 2008
Diversity in academic medicine no.
Abstract For the past 20 years, the percentage of the American population consisting of nonwhite minorities has been steadily increasing. By 2050, these nonwhite minorities, taken together, are expected to become the majority. Meanwhile, despite almost 50 years of efforts to increase the representation of minorities in the healthcare professions, such representation remains grossly deficient. Among the underrepresented minorities are African and Hispanic Americans; Native Americans, Alaskans, and Pacific Islanders (including Hawaiians); and certain Asians (including Hmong, Vietnamese, and Cambodians). The underrepresentation of underrepresented minorities in the healthcare professions has a profoundly negative effect on public health, including serious racial and ethnic health disparities. These can be reduced only by increased recruitment and development of both underrepresented minority medical students and underrepresented minority medical school administrators and faculty. Underrepresented minority faculty development is deterred by barriers resulting from years of systematic segregation, discrimination, tradition, culture, and elitism in academic medicine. If these barriers can be overcome, the rewards will be great: improvements in public health, an expansion of the contemporary medical research agenda, and improvements in the teaching of both underrepresented minority and non,underrepresented minority students. Mt Sinai J Med 75:491,498, © 2008 Mount Sinai School of Medicine [source]