Abstract
Objectives
We investigated whether associations between nativity/length of US residence and body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC) varied over the past two decades.
Methods
Mexican-Americans aged 20–64 years from the National Health and Nutrition Survey (NHANES) III (1988–1994), and NHANES (1999–2008). Sex-stratified multivariable linear regression models further adjusted for age, education, and NHANES period.
Results
We found no evidence of secular variation in the nativity/length of US residence gradient for men or women. Foreign-born Mexican-Americans, irrespective of residence length, had lower mean BMI and WC than their US-born counterparts. However among women, education modified secular trends in nativity differentials: notably, in less-educated women, nativity gradients widened over time due to alarming increases in BMI among the US-born and little increase in the foreign-born.
Conclusions
Associations between nativity/length of US residence and BMI/WC did not vary over this 20-year period, but we noted important modifications by education in women. Understanding these trends is important for identifying vulnerable subpopulations among Mexican-Americans and for the development of effective health promotion strategies in this fast-growing segment of the population.
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Acknowledgments
This work was supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (grants R01HL07175905A1S1 and R01HL071759), and by the Michigan Center for Integrative Approaches to Health Disparities (P60 MD002249) funded by the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities.
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Albrecht, S.S., Diez Roux, A.V., Aiello, A.E. et al. Secular trends in the association between nativity/length of US residence with body mass index and waist circumference among Mexican-Americans, 1988–2008. Int J Public Health 58, 573–581 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00038-012-0414-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00038-012-0414-5