ACCULTURATION AND THE PREVALENCE OF DIABETES IN ADULT LATINOS: NHANES 2007-2010

Abstract

Background: Latinos are disproportionately affected by diabetes. Studies examining acculturation and diabetes prevalence among Latinos have used diverse operational definitions of acculturation and have reported conflicting results. Objective: To examine the association between two acculturation measures--country of birth and predominant language spoken--with the prevalence of diabetes mellitus (DM) in adult U.S. Latinos. Methods: We used data from the 2007-2008 and 2009-2010 National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys , including Latinos aged 20-80 years old (n=3,214). We examined the association of country of origin (U.S.-born vs. non-U.S.-born) and predominant language spoken (English vs. Spanish) with diabetes. Covariates included in logistic regression analysis included, age, education, income, marital status, and BMI. Results: After adjusting for age, education, income, and marital status, Latinos born in the United States and those speaking English as their predominant language demonstrated greater odds of having diabetes than their foreign-born and Spanish-speaking counterparts (OR 1.42, 95% CI 1.05-1.93 and OR 1.35, 95% CI 1.06-1.74, respectively). This positive association between acculturation and diabetes prevalence was mediated in part by body mass index. Conclusion: Latinos with high levels of acculturation--defined by country of birth and predominant language spoken--have an increased risk of diabetes compared to those with low levels of acculturation. Further research should explore the complex underlying processes that explain differences in the odds of DM by acculturation status. Our findings may inform clinicians and public health professionals in implementing interventions to prevent diabetes in U.S. Latinos, who are at high-risk for this disease.