Intergenerational Educational Attainment and Cardiometabolic Health in Latino Individuals Living in the United States

Citation

Crenshaw, Emma G.; Fernández-Rhodes, Lindsay; Martin, Chantel L.; Gordon-Larsen, Penny; Haan, Mary N.; & Aiello, Allison E. (2021). Intergenerational Educational Attainment and Cardiometabolic Health in Latino Individuals Living in the United States. Obesity, 29(7), 1178-1185. PMCID: PMC8549077

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to estimate the association between cycles of poverty, measured by intergenerational educational attainment (IEA), and the burden of obesity and metabolic dysfunction among Hispanic/Latino individuals in the United States.
METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study utilizing data from 392 adults linked to 286 biologic parents from the Niños Lifestyle and Diabetes Study and the Sacramento Area Latino Study on Aging. The educational attainment of parents and offspring was dichotomized in order to categorize IEA. Outcomes included obesity and metabolic syndrome (MetS). Model-based standardization with population weights was used to compare obesity and MetS across generations, and Poisson regression was used to estimate prevalence ratios by IEA.
RESULTS: A higher prevalence of obesity and MetS was observed in offspring (54% and 69%, respectively) compared with their parents (48% and 42%, respectively). Compared with stable-low IEA, any category with high offspring education was associated with lower obesity and MetS prevalence. The upwardly mobile group saw the greatest benefit; they were 38% (95% CI: 10%-57%) and 46% (95% CI: 21%-63%) less likely to have obesity or MetS.
CONCLUSIONS: IEA strongly patterns cardiometabolic health among Hispanic/Latino individuals living in the United States, suggesting that promotion of higher education is associated with reductions in obesity and MetS, potentially benefitting future generations of this population.

URL

https://doi.org/10.1002/oby.23156

Reference Type

Journal Article

Year Published

2021

Journal Title

Obesity

Author(s)

Crenshaw, Emma G.
Fernández-Rhodes, Lindsay
Martin, Chantel L.
Gordon-Larsen, Penny
Haan, Mary N.
Aiello, Allison E.

Article Type

Regular

PMCID

PMC8549077

Data Set/Study

Niños Lifestyle and Diabetes Study (NLDS)
Sacramento Area Latino Study on Aging (SALSA)

Continent/Country

United States of America

State

Nonspecific

Race/Ethnicity

Hispanic/Latinx

ORCiD

Aiello - 0000-0001-7029-2537
Martin, C. - 0000-0003-1907-0810
Gordon-Larsen - 0000-0001-5322-4188