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Understanding Immigration as a Social Determinant of Health: Cardiovascular Disease in Hispanics/Latinos and South Asians in the United States

  • Evidence-Based Medicine, Clinical Trials and Their Interpretations (K. Nasir, Section Editor)
  • Published:
Current Atherosclerosis Reports Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose of Review

The main purpose of this review is to summarize the epidemiology of cardiovascular disease and its risk factors among two of the largest and most diverse immigrant groups in the United States (Hispanics/Latinos and South Asians).

Recent Findings

While the migration process generates unique challenges for individuals, there is a wide heterogeneity in the characteristics of immigrant populations, both between and within regions of origin. Hispanic/Latino immigrants to the United States have lower levels of cardiovascular risk factors, prevalence, and mortality, but this assessment is limited by issues related to the “salmon bias.” South Asian immigrants to the United States generally have higher levels of risk factors and higher mortality. In both cases, levels of risk factors and mortality generally increase with time of living in the United States (US).

Summary

While immigration acts as a social determinant of health, associations between immigration and cardiovascular disease and its risk factors are complex and vary across subpopulations.

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Abbreviations

US:

United States of America

CVD:

Cardiovascular disease

NHW:

Non-Hispanic White

SDOH:

Social determinants of health

SES:

Socioeconomic status

NHIS:

National Health Interview Survey

MASALA:

Mediators of Atherosclerosis in South Asians Living in America

HCHS/SOL:

Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos

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Funding

JG was supported, in part, by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health Policy Research Scholar program and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (T32-HL125294). UB was supported by the Office of the Director of the National Institutes of Health under award number DP5OD26429. The funding sources had no role in the analysis, writing, or decision to submit the manuscript.

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Author notes

  1. Miguel Cainzos-Achirica and Usama Bilal contributed equally as co-senior authors.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Program on Medicines and Public Health, Titus Family Department of Clinical Pharmacy, University of Southern California School of Pharmacy, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Jenny S. Guadamuz

  2. Centre de Recherche Politiques et Systèmes de Santé, Université Libre de Bruxelles Ecole de Santé Publique, Brussels, Belgium

    Jenny S. Guadamuz

  3. Johns Hopkins Ciccarone Center for the Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Karan Kapoor & Miguel Cainzos-Achirica

  4. Department of Community Health and Prevention, Drexel Dornsife School of Public Health, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Mariana Lazo

  5. Urban Health Collaborative, Drexel Dornsife School of Public Health, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Mariana Lazo, Andrea Eleazar & Usama Bilal

  6. Center for Health Equity, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Mariana Lazo

  7. Division of Cardiovascular Prevention and Wellness, Department of Cardiology, Houston Methodist DeBakey Heart & Vascular Center, Houston, TX, USA

    Tamer Yahya & Miguel Cainzos-Achirica

  8. Division of General Internal Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA

    Alka M. Kanaya

  9. Center for Outcomes Research, Houston Methodist, Houston, TX, USA

    Miguel Cainzos-Achirica

  10. Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Drexel Dornsife School of Public Health, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Usama Bilal

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  1. Jenny S. Guadamuz
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  8. Usama Bilal
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Guadamuz, J.S., Kapoor, K., Lazo, M. et al. Understanding Immigration as a Social Determinant of Health: Cardiovascular Disease in Hispanics/Latinos and South Asians in the United States. Curr Atheroscler Rep 23, 25 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11883-021-00920-9

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