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Loneliness, Cardiovascular Disease, and Diabetes Prevalence in the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos Sociocultural Ancillary Study

Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health volume 22, pages 345–352 (2020)Cite this article

Abstract

The relationship between loneliness and both cardiovascular disease (CVD) and diabetes mellitus (DM) has been understudied in U.S. Hispanics, a group at high risk for DM. We examined whether loneliness was associated with CVD and DM, and whether age, sex, marital status, and years in U.S moderated these associations. Participants were 5,313 adults (M (SD) age = 42.39 (15.01)) enrolled in the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos Sociocultural Ancillary Study. Loneliness was assessed via the 3-item Revised UCLA Loneliness Scale. Level of reported loneliness was low. Loneliness was significantly associated with CVD: OR 1.10 (CI 1.01–1.20) and DM: OR 1.08 (CI 1.00–1.16) after adjusting for depression, demographics, body mass index, and smoking status. Age, sex, marital status, and years in U.S. did not moderate associations. Given that increased loneliness is associated with higher cardiometabolic disease prevalence beyond depressive symptoms, regardless of age, sex, marital status, or years in the U.S., Hispanic adults experiencing high levels of loneliness may be a subgroup at particularly elevated risk for CVD and DM.

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Acknowledgements

HCHS/SOL was supported by contracts from the National Institutes of Health (NIH)/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) to the University of North Carolina (Grant No. N01-HC65233), University of Miami (Grant No. N01-HC65234), Albert Einstein College of Medicine (Grant No. N01-HC65235), Northwestern University (Grant No. N01-HC65236), and San Diego State University (Grant No. N01-HC65237). The HCHS/SOL Sociocultural Ancillary Study was supported by Grant 1 RC2 HL101649 (Gallo/Penedo) from the NIH/NHLBI. SAF was supported by NHLBI T32 institutional training Grant HL007426-37. Authors thank staff and participants of HCHS/SOL for their important contributions.

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Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Miami, 5665 Ponce de Leon Boulevard, Flipse 430, Coral Gables, FL, 33146, USA

    Samantha A. Foti, Tasneem Khambaty, Orit Birnbaum-Weitzman, William Arguelles, Neil Schneiderman & Maria M. Llabre

  2. Center for Research and Grants, Baptist Health South Florida, South Miami, USA

    William Arguelles

  3. Department of Medical Social Sciences, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA

    Frank Penedo

  4. Department of Psychology, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, USA

    Rebeca A. Espinoza Giacinto, Angela P. Gutierrez & Linda C. Gallo

  5. Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA

    Aida L. Giachello

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  1. Samantha A. Foti
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  2. Tasneem Khambaty
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  3. Orit Birnbaum-Weitzman
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  8. Linda C. Gallo
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  9. Aida L. Giachello
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Correspondence to Samantha A. Foti.

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Foti, S.A., Khambaty, T., Birnbaum-Weitzman, O. et al. Loneliness, Cardiovascular Disease, and Diabetes Prevalence in the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos Sociocultural Ancillary Study. J Immigrant Minority Health 22, 345–352 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-019-00885-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-019-00885-7

Keywords

  • Loneliness
  • Diabetes
  • Cardiovascular disease
  • Hispanics
  • Latinos