Acculturation and multiple cancer risk factors among U.S. Hispanics

Public health efforts to prevent cancer among US Hispanics offer great potential to improve population health. This study contrasts the association between acculturation and patterns of adherence to multiple cancer risk factors among US Hispanics (n = 4,679) and Non-Hispanics (N = 23,809) using results from the 2000 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). The 2000 NHIS included an 8-item language acculturation scale and items concerning health behaviors and outcomes: tobacco, alcohol, fruit and vegetable intake, exercise, and BMI. Respondents were assigned 1 if adherent to recommendations concerning each of the five health variables and 0 if non-adherent. These scores were summed to yield a health index score ( 0-5). Acculturation level was divided into tertiles based on responses to acculturation items.

A health index score of three was most prevalent for both Hispanics and non-Hispanics. Among females, the prevalence of Hispanics with health index score of three was greatest in the low acculturation group (42.0% (SE 1.9)), lower in the medium acculturation (38.4 % (SE 2.2)) and lowest in the high (32.9% (SE 2.0)) acculturation Hispanic group compared to the non-Hispanic population (33.9% (SE 0.5)). Thus, health index scores of Hispanics may change with acculturation to more closely match the general population. This trend was similar among males, despite the fact that males and females exhibited different patterns of adherence to exercise and BMI. Examining associations between health index scores and adherence patterns offer a comprehensive snapshot of cancer risk among Hispanics compared to Non-Hispanics and may contribute insights to guide the design of public health campaigns.