U.S. study calls for tailored health approaches for biggest minority population

A new study suggests that public health approaches may need to be tailored based on needs of the diverse groups within the Latino population in the United States.

Past research has shown that increased wealth, defined as the accumulation of property such as homes and cars, savings and more, has been linked to better cardiovascular health across various racial and ethnic groups. But among Hispanic/Latinos, the association has been inconsistent.

An analysis of health data for nearly 5,000 Hispanic/Latino people ages 18 to 74 in the United States, collected for the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos and the Sociocultural Ancillary Study, showed that on whole there was no strong association between wealth and cardiovascular health among Hispanic/Latinos.

"What we found is that it's important to be careful not to make assumptions that everyone who is considered Hispanic or Latino can be put into the same basket," said Daniel López-Cevallos, assistant professor of ethnic studies in the Oregon State University (OSU) College of Liberal Arts. "There are differences within the group that are important to take into consideration when it comes to addressing public health issues such as cardiovascular health."

Much of the health research today tends to focus on Latinos in the country as a single racial/ethnic group. But in reality, that group includes people from a diverse range of backgrounds, including Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, Dominican, Central American and South American, and the health risks they face may vary from group to group.

Published this month in the journal Ethnicity and Health, the new study underscores the need for further examination of differences within the Hispanic/Latino population, particularly when developing medical treatments or public health interventions, said López-Cevallos, the lead author on the study.

The Hispanic/Latino population is the largest and one of the fastest-growing racial/ethnic minority groups in the United States. And cardiovascular disease is one of the leading causes of death among Hispanic/Latinos.

The researchers found that health and wealth were closely associated for some groups but not others. For example, wealthier Central Americans were less likely to be obese, while wealthier Puerto Ricans were more likely to be obese. "Within this group, there is a diversity of experiences," he said. "What is it about the experience of wealthy Puerto Ricans that is different from the experience of wealthy Central Americans? Unless we explore those differences further, we won't be able to understand and address health risk factors appropriately."

Further research is needed to understand and tailor public health messaging and health interventions for sub-groups within the Hispanic/Latino population, López-Cevallos was quoted as saying in a news release from OSU. "As the Latino population continues to grow, these differences within groups will become more and more important," he said. "We really need to amp up our study of these deeper differences." Endit