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Length of Time in the United States and Cardiometabolic Outcomes Among Foreign and US–Born Black Adults

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Abstract

Introduction

Among certain immigrant groups, length of time spent living in the United States (LOT) is associated with poor cardiometabolic health. We aimed to evaluate the association between LOT and cardiometabolic outcomes among US Black adults.

Methods

The National Health Interview Survey is an annual representative survey of non–institutionalized US civilians. We combined 2016–2018 data and included all Black adults (N = 10,034). LOT was defined as the number of years lived in the US, if foreign–born. Obesity, hypertension, diabetes, and high cholesterol were each self–reported. We used logistic regression models to determine whether LOT was associated with cardiometabolic health factors overall and by origin subgroups—US–born non–Hispanic, Hispanic, African–born, and Caribbean/Central American (CA)–born groups.

Results

Our study population was 81% US–born non–Hispanic, 5% Hispanic (both foreign– and US–born), 6% African–born, and 6% Caribbean/CA–born groups. Among Black adults, compared with the US–born, being foreign–born with < 15 years in the US was associated with lower odds of obesity (OR: 0.31, 95%CI: 0.23–0.42) and hypertension (OR: 0.35, 95%CI: 0.24–0.49). In subgroup analyses, Caribbean/CA–born individuals with < 15 years in the US had 64% lower odds of obesity (OR: 0.36, 95%CI 0.15–0.84) and 63% lower odds of hypertension (OR: 0.37, 95%CI 0.15–0.88) compared with those with ≥ 15 years.

Conclusion

Shorter LOT was associated with more favorable cardiometabolic health, with differential associations among foreign–born Black adults based on origin. This heterogeneity suggests a need to examine the implications of acculturation in the context of the specific population of interest.

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Data Availability

The National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) data used for this study is publicly available from the National Center for Health Statistics.

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Funding

Dr. Tali Elfassy is currently supported by the National Institutes of Health; and the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (K01MD014158).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, 1120 NW 14th Street, Miami, FL, 33136, USA

    Ifedioranma Anikpo, Leah Dodds, Robert A. Mesa, Julien Tremblay & Lilliana Vilchez

  2. Department of Medicine, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA

    Julien Tremblay & Tali Elfassy

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  1. Ifedioranma Anikpo
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Contributions

IA: conceptualization, formal analysis, methodology, visualization, writing—original draft, writing—review and editing. LD: writing—original draft, writing—review and editing. RAM: methodology, writing—review and editing. JT: writing—review and editing. LV: writing—review and editing. TE: conceptualization, methodology, validation, supervision, writing—review and editing.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ifedioranma Anikpo.

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Ethics Approval

The National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) is approved by the Research Ethics Review Board of the National Center for Health Statistics and the U.S. Office of Management and Budget. Data obtained for this study is de–identified and publicly available.

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All NHIS respondents provided oral consent prior to participation.

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Not applicable.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Anikpo, I., Dodds, L., Mesa, R.A. et al. Length of Time in the United States and Cardiometabolic Outcomes Among Foreign and US–Born Black Adults. J. Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40615-023-01902-0

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