Acculturation‐ and migration‐related factors affect cardiometabolic disease risk factors in Mexican‐American adults

The effects of acculturation and related factors (language spoken, generation, education, time in the US) on cardiometabolic disease risk factors were evaluated in 75 Mexican‐American adults (26 males, 49 females; age = 37.6±9.3 y, BMI = 28.9±5.3 kg/m 2 , systolic BP = 117±11 mm Hg, diastolic BP = 73±9 mm Hg, LDL cholesterol = 114±32 mg/dL, HDL cholesterol = 44±11 mg/dL, triglycerides = 115±61 mg/dL, serum glucose = 92±7 mg/dL). Greater acculturation to the Anglo culture was negatively correlated with body fat percentage (r=−0.238, p=0.043) and serum glucose (r=−0.265, p=0.024). In contrast, time in the US was positively correlated with systolic and diastolic blood pressure (r=0.316, p=0.006 and r=0.373, p=0.001, respectively). Relative to first generation Mexican‐Americans, participants who were born in Mexico had significantly lower HDL‐cholesterol (40±9 mg/dL vs. 50±13 mg/dL, p=0.007) and significantly higher serum glucose (94±8 mg/dL vs. 89±6 mg/dL, p=0.035). Compared to their bilingual counterparts, Spanish only speakers had significantly greater serum glucose (96±10 mg/dL vs. 91±6 mg/dL, p=0.032) and triglycerides (152±70 mg/dL vs. 99±49 mg/dL, p=0.028). Overall, these results suggest that factors related to acculturation and migration may affect cardiometabolic disease risk in Mexican Americans. Funded by Arizona State University.