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Obesity and Associated Health Disparities Among Understudied Multiracial, Pacific Islander, and American Indian Adults
Author(s) -
Subica Andrew M.,
Agarwal Neha,
Sullivan J. Greer,
Link Bruce G.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
obesity
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.438
H-Index - 199
eISSN - 1930-739X
pISSN - 1930-7381
DOI - 10.1002/oby.21954
Subject(s) - pacific islanders , obesity , medicine , gerontology , odds ratio , health equity , odds , diabetes mellitus , demography , logistic regression , national health and nutrition examination survey , marital status , young adult , environmental health , public health , population , endocrinology , nursing , sociology
Objective This study examined the state of obesity, diabetes, and associated health disparities among understudied multiracial, Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander (NHOPI), and American Indian and Alaskan Native (AIAN) adults. Methods Aggregated data for 184,617 adults from the California Health Interview Survey (2005 to 2011) were analyzed to determine obesity, diabetes, poor/fair health, and physical disability prevalence by racial group. Logistic regressions controlling for age, gender, and key social determinants (education, marital status, poverty, health insurance) generated multiracial, NHOPI, and AIAN adults' odds ratios (ORs) for our targeted health conditions versus non‐Hispanic white adults. Results Obesity, diabetes, and other targeted health conditions were highly prevalent among multiracial, NHOPI, and AIAN adults, who displayed significantly greater adjusted odds than non‐Hispanic white adults for obesity (ORs = 1.2‐1.9), diabetes (ORs = 1.6‐2.4), poor/fair health (ORs = 1.4‐1.7), and, with the exception of NHOPI adults, physical disability (ORs = 1.5‐1.6). Multiracial and AIAN adults with obesity also had significantly higher adjusted odds of diabetes (OR = 1.5‐2.6) than non‐Hispanic white adults with obesity. Conclusions Multiracial, NHOPI, and AIAN adults experience striking obesity‐related disparities versus non‐Hispanic white adults, urging further disparities research with these vulnerable minority populations.