Recorded presentation

Cassandra Arroyo, PhD, Social Epidemiology Research Division, Morehouse School of Medicine, 720 Westview Drive, SW, NCPC-315, Atlanta, GA 30310-1495, 404-756-8909, carroyo@msm.edu, Nakia C Brown, PhD, Community Health and Preventive Medicine, Morehouse School of Medicine, 720 Westview Drive, SW, NCPC-315, Atlanta, GA 30310-1495, and Sharon K. Davis, MPA, PhD, Social Epidemiology Research Division, Department of Community Health and Preventive Medicine, Morehouse School of Medicine, 720 Westview Drive, SW, MRC-247, Atlanta, GA 30310.

The prevalence of type 2 diabetes is two times higher in Hispanics than in non-Hispanic whites. While acculturation has been linked with risk factors for diabetes and diabetic complications, little has been done to examine whether there is a direct link between acculturation or assimilation and diabetes. To study the cross-sectional relationship between age at migration and diabetes among non-US born elderly Mexican-Americans, 1255 elderly Mexican Americans born outside the US were selected from the Hispanic Established Populations for the Epidemiologic Studies of the Elderly (EPESE), 1993-1994. Participants were asked if they had ever been told by a doctor that they had diabetes. Of the 1255 participants born outside of the United States, 331 participants reported having ever been told by a doctor that they had diabetes at the time of the survey. Subjects who reported having diabetes were, on average, 2.9 years younger at migration (P=0.011) than subjects who did not report having diabetes. Multivariate logistic regression was used to determine whether age at migration was related to the prevalence of diabetes in the sample, while adjusting for BMI and parental history of diabetes. For every 10-year increase in age at migration, subjects were 10.4% (P=0.007) less likely to report having ever been told they had diabetes by a doctor. These preliminary results suggest that elderly Mexican-Americans who migrate at earlier ages could be at a greater risk for developing diabetes. Further research needs to be conducted in a more heterogeneous population that includes Hispanics from other countries.

Learning Objectives:

• 3. Describe the association between age at migration and diabetes prevalence among elderly, non-US born Mexican-Americans.
  7. Discuss the implications for future research directions.

Keywords: Diabetes, Hispanic

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.

Recorded presentation