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Perceived Discrimination and Cardiometabolic Risk Among US Hispanics/Latinos in the HCHS/SOL Sociocultural Ancillary Study

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Abstract

Background

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a group of cardiovascular risk factors including elevated blood pressure, elevated triglycerides, decreased high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, impaired fasting glucose, and abdominal obesity, which disproportionately affects Hispanics/Latinos. The present study examined associations between perceived discrimination and MetS in Hispanic/Latino adults from various background groups (i.e., Dominican, Central American, Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South American).

Methods

Data were obtained from 5174 Hispanics/Latinos who participated in the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL) Sociocultural Ancillary Study. MetS components and covariates were measured at a baseline examination, and perceived discrimination was assessed within 9 months of baseline. Path analysis modeled associations of perceived discrimination with MetS prevalence and each of the six components of MetS, controlling for age, sex, income, acculturation, physical activity, diet, smoking, and alcohol use.

Results

Among the full cohort, perceived discrimination was not associated with MetS prevalence in any of the models evaluated. Higher perceived discrimination at work/school was associated with larger waist circumference. When examining background groups separately, higher perceived ethnicity-associated threat was related to increased MetS prevalence only among individuals of Central American background. Differential patterns of association between perceived discrimination and MetS components were found for different background groups.

Conclusions

Overall results suggested that perceived discrimination was not strongly or consistently associated with MetS among Hispanics/Latinos.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Katy Wortman for her assistance with data management and analysis. The authors thank the staff and participants of the HCHS/SOL and the HCHS/SOL Sociocultural Ancillary Study for their important contributions.

Funding

The Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos is a collaborative study supported by contracts from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) to the University of North Carolina (N01-HC65233), University of Miami (N01-HC65234), Albert Einstein College of Medicine (N01-HC65235), N01-HC-65236 Northwestern University (N01-HC65236), and San Diego State University (N01-HC65237). The following institutes/centers/offices contribute to the HCHS/SOL through a transfer of funds to the NHLBI: National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, and NIH Institution-Office of Dietary Supplements. The HCHS/SOL Sociocultural Ancillary Study was supported by grant 1 RC2 HL101649 from the NHLBI/NIH. Rina S. Fox was supported through a National Cancer Institute Training Grant (5T32CA193193).

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Authors and Affiliations

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

    Rina S. Fox

  2. Department of Preventive Medicine, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA

    Mercedes R. Carnethon & Aida L. Giachello

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

    Linda C. Gallo

  4. SDSU/UC San Diego Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology, San Diego, CA, USA

    Linda C. Gallo & Jessica L. McCurley

  5. Monash Institute of Cognitive and Clinical Neurosciences and School of Psychological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

    Joshua F. Wiley

  6. Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, NY, USA

    Carmen R. Isasi

  7. Institute for Minority Health Research, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA

    Martha L. Daviglus

  8. Collaborative Studies Coordinating Center, Department of Biostatistics, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

    Jianwen Cai & Sonia M. Davis

  9. Graduate School of Public Health, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, USA

    Patricia Gonzalez

  10. Department of Psychology, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA

    Neil Schneiderman & Frank J. Penedo

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  1. Rina S. Fox
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  2. Mercedes R. Carnethon
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  6. Martha L. Daviglus
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  7. Jianwen Cai
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  8. Sonia M. Davis
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  9. Aida L. Giachello
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  10. Patricia Gonzalez
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  11. Jessica L. McCurley
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  13. Frank J. Penedo
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Frank J. Penedo.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Fox, R.S., Carnethon, M.R., Gallo, L.C. et al. Perceived Discrimination and Cardiometabolic Risk Among US Hispanics/Latinos in the HCHS/SOL Sociocultural Ancillary Study. Int.J. Behav. Med. 26, 331–342 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12529-019-09782-7

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