RESUMO
This study examines the cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk profiles of first generation (FG) and second generation (SG) Mexican-Americans (MA) in two large national studies--the Hispanic Health and Nutrition Examination Study (HHANES) (1982-1984) and the National Health and Examination Study (NHANES) (1999-2004). The main outcome measures were five individual risk indicators of CVD (total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, hypertension, diabetes, and smoking) and a composite measure (the Framingham Risk Score [FRS]). The analyses included cross-survey (pseudocohort) and within-survey (cross-sectional) comparisons. In multivariate analyses, SG men had higher rates of hypertension and lower rates of smoking than FG men; and SG women had lower total cholesterol levels, higher rates of hypertension, and lower rates of smoking than FG women. There was no generational difference in the FRS in men or women. The cross-survey comparisons detected generational differences in CVD risk factors not detected in within-survey comparisons, particularly among MA women. Future studies of generational differences in risk should consider using pseudocohort comparisons when possible.
Assuntos
Doenças Cardiovasculares/etiologia , Hispânico ou Latino , Adulto , Idoso , Doenças Cardiovasculares/etnologia , Efeito de Coortes , Estudos Transversais , Emigrantes e Imigrantes , Feminino , Comportamentos Relacionados com a Saúde/etnologia , Humanos , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Inquéritos Nutricionais , Medição de Risco , Estados Unidos , Adulto JovemRESUMO
A survey was administered to adults attending a health fair in south Los Angeles County, approximately 140 miles from the U.S.-Mexico border. The survey revealed that 14 percent of respondents had crossed the border to seek medical care during the past year. Nearly 80 percent of respondents crossing the border for medical care were uninsured, while 70 percent reported the low cost of medical care obtained across the border as being the most common reason for seeking care there. Twenty-eight percent of respondents reported purchasing medication in Mexico, with antibiotics and pain medication being reported in highest frequency. Ninety percent of these respondents were uninsured. This study shows that the high cost of health care and lack of insurance compels the poor and uninsured to seek low-cost health care and medication in Mexico to meet their most urgent health care needs, despite the burden of cost and travel.