Neighborhood ethnic composition and infectious biomarkers among Mexican Americans

Infectious diseases are highly prevalent in developing countries or developing areas within a country. Latino neighborhood “=barrio” in the U. S. may be not the exception. Indeed, Latino “barrio” is characterized by increased rates of infectious-related cancers such as cervical, hepatic, or stomach cancer. The objective of this study is to determine the association between ethnic concentration and seroprevalence of infections among Mexican American men and women aged 17 years and over. Data were the NHANES III (1988-94), linked to Census (1990). Outcomes were seroprevalence of infectious biomarkers including herpes virus I and II, Helicobacter pylori, Hepatitis virus A, B and C. Percent of Hispanics at the census tract level was used as a proxy for neighborhood ethnic concentration. In age and gender adjusted analyses, Mexican Americans living in high concentrated Hispanic neighborhoods (less acculturated or Latino ‘barrios') were significantly more likely to have a positive seroprevalence for herpes I, Helicobacter pylori, and Hepatitis A compared to Mexican Americans living in low concentrated Hispanic neighborhoods. Because these infections have oral -person to person- or enteric –waterborne-transmissions, our results suggest that the environment of the Latino ‘barrio' may facilitate their transmission (e.g., crowding conditions). Also, a high concentration of foreign born Mexican Americans in the “barrio” may explain this high prevalence. On the other hand, the high prevalence of Helicobacter pylori, with its carcinogenic effect, may be a potential explanation why those Hispanics living in ‘barrios' tend to have greater rates of infectious-related cancers such as stomach cancer.