Prevalence of cardiovascular disease risk factors among older Puerto Rican adults living in Massachusetts

Abstract

There remains limited research on cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors in Puerto Rican adults. We compared lifestyle and CVD risk factors in Puerto Rican men and women with normal fasting glucose (NFG), impaired fasting glucose (IFG), or type 2 diabetes (T2D), and investigated achievement of American Diabetes Association (ADA) treatment goals in those with T2D. Baseline data from the Boston Puerto Rican Health Study were analyzed, which included 1,287 adults aged 45-75 years. Obesity, hyperglycemia, and dyslipidemia were prevalent and increased from NFG to IFG and T2D. In individuals without T2D, fasting insulin correlated significantly with body mass index. Achievement of ADA goals was poor; LDL cholesterol was most achieved (59.4%), followed by blood pressure (27.2%) and glycosylated hemoglobin (27.0%). Poverty, female sex, current alcohol use, and diabetes or anti-hypertensive medication use were associated with not meeting goals. Puerto Rican adults living in the Boston area showed several metabolic abnormalities and high CVD risk, likely due to pervasive obesity and socio-economic disparities.

Figures

Fig. 1

Association between BMI and fasting insulin in Puerto Rican adults with normal fasting glucose (NFG, n = 478) or impaired fasting glucose (IFG, n = 306), adjusted for age and sex. NFG was defined as a fasting plasma glucose (FPG) concentration <100 mg/dl (5.6 mmol/l), and IFG as FPG 100–125 mg/dl (5.6–6.9 mmol/l). Values are means with their standard errors represented by vertical bars. At each BMI category, those with IFG had significantly higher mean insulin concentrations (P <0.05) than those with NFG. Tests for linear trend of mean insulin across BMI categories were also conducted, separately by NFG or IFG; P < 0.0001 for each