Mediation of risk factors for high blood pressure in four racial and ethnic populations.

This study evaluated the extent to which body mass index (BMI) mediates associations between risk factors and incident high blood pressure in American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/ANs), Non-Hispanic Whites (NHWs), Non-Hispanic Blacks (NHBs) and Hispanics. There were 7,793 participants from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health: 312 AI/ANs, 1,091 Hispanics, 1,567 NHBs and 4,823 NHWs. Risk factors for high blood pressure included adolescent BMI, TV watching, fast-food consumption, smoking, parental obesity, parental educational attainment and financial instability.

The heterogeneous associations of universal cash-payouts with breastfeeding initiation and continuation.

Existing health literature documents the benefits of breastfeeding for the first six months of life. Prior research on barriers to breastfeeding has focused on the role of hospital initiatives, return to work, and individual mothers' characteristics. This study uses data from Alaska's Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System and the Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend, to investigate whether universal income support shapes mothers' breastfeeding behaviors.

Race/ethnicity, sleep duration, and mortality risk in the United States.

Current evidence and professional guidance recommend sleeping between 7 and 9 h in a 24-h period for optimal health. The present study examines the association between sleep duration and mortality and assesses whether this association varies by racial/ethnic identity for a large and diverse sample of United States adults. We use data on 274,836 adults, aged 25 and older, from the 2004-2014 waves of the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) linked to prospective mortality through 2015 (23,382 deaths).

Body Mass Index, White Matter Hyperintensities, and Cognitive Performance in American Indians: Data from the Strong Heart Study.

Background: Previous studies report that obesity can be a risk and a protective factor for cognitive health. However, they have not examined whether white matter hyperintensities (WMH) mediate the association between mid- or late-life body mass index (BMI) and late-life cognitive performance. We examined this question in American Indians, a population underrepresented in neuropsychological research.

Gestational Diabetes and Breastfeeding Among Women of Different Races/Ethnicities: Evidence from the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring Surveys.

Objective: To examine risk factors for gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and factors associated with breastfeeding patterns among women with GDM from different racial/ethnic groups.

Methods: We used data from Phase 8 (2016-2018) of the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System. We used logistic regression to estimate factors associated with GDM and with breastfeeding initiation, and conducted survival analysis using Kaplan-Meier curves, and Cox proportional hazards regression to analyze early cessation of breastfeeding.

Association of food security with cardiometabolic health during young adulthood: cross-sectional comparison of American Indian adults with other racial/ethnic groups.

Objectives: Our aim was to assess the cross-sectional associations between food insecurity and cardiometabolic health indicators in American Indian young adults compared with non-Hispanic white, black, Asian or Pacific Islander and Hispanic young adults.

Design: Data from the fourth wave of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health) were used. Variables included a self-assessed measure of risk of food insecurity, indicators of cardiometabolic health (body mass index, haemoglobin A1c, blood pressure) and sociodemographic characteristics.

Experiences of United States Graduates at the Latin American Medical School in Cuba: A Road Less Traveled.

Objectives: Determine if United States graduates of the Latin American Medical School in Cuba: 1) provide primary health care to disadvantaged populations; 2) complete licensing exams and obtain residencies; and 3) accrue additional debt during their medical education.

Methods: A Qualtrics secure web-based survey was provided to 158 graduates via email, completed anonymously. Responses were compiled and descriptive statistics generated.

Risk of Food Insecurity in Young Adulthood and Longitudinal Changes in Cardiometabolic Health: Evidence from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health.

Background: Studies have demonstrated relations between food insecurity, the lack of access to enough nutritious food, and greater risk of diet-sensitive chronic diseases. However, most prior evidence relies on cross-sectional studies and self-reported disease.

Objectives: The objective was to assess the longitudinal relation between risk of food insecurity in young adulthood and changes in diet-sensitive cardiometabolic health outcomes across 10 y among non-Hispanic white, non-Hispanic black, American Indian or Alaska Native, and Hispanic adults.

Risk Factors in Adolescence for the Development of Elevated Blood Pressure and Hypertension in American Indian and Alaskan Native Adults.

To examine risk factors for elevated blood pressure and hypertension in American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/ANs), compared to three other ethnic groups in the US. Weighted relative risk regression models, stratified by race/ethnicity, were used to measure the associations between risk factors and elevated blood pressure and hypertension in AI/ANs, compared to non-Hispanic Whites, non-Hispanic Blacks and Hispanics, with data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health. In all groups, females had a lower risk of both elevated blood pressure and hypertension than males.

Implementation outcomes of a culturally adapted diabetes self-management education intervention for Native Hawaiians and Pacific islanders.

Background: Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders (NHPIs) experience a disproportionate burden of type 2 diabetes and related complications. Although diabetes self-management education and support (DSMES) interventions have generally yielded positive results, few NHPIs have been included in these studies, and even fewer studies have been evaluated using a randomized controlled trial design and/or implementation research methods. The purpose of this pilot study was to evaluate implementation outcomes of a culturally adapted diabetes self-management education intervention delivered by peer educators to Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders residing in Honolulu, Hawai'i.

Risk factors for pre-diabetes and diabetes in adolescence and their variability by race and ethnicity.

Adolescent risk factors for pre-diabetes and diabetes in young adulthood were examined in three minority groups and compared to those in non-Hispanic Whites. Retrospective cohort study with data on 8337 adolescent respondents from Add Health (1994-2008). Participants included 5131 non-Hispanic Whites, 1651 non-Hispanic Blacks, 1223 Hispanics, and 332 American Indians/Alaska Natives.

Breastfeeding in Infancy Is Associated with Body Mass Index in Adolescence: A Retrospective Cohort Study Comparing American Indians/Alaska Natives and Non-Hispanic Whites.

Background: American Indians and Alaska Natives have the highest obesity prevalence in the United States, but the influence of early childhood variables on body mass index (BMI; calculated as kg/m) is not well understood. Previous studies have investigated the association between breastfeeding in infancy and offspring BMI, but rarely included American Indians and Alaska Natives.

Objective: This study investigated the association between breastfeeding in infancy and BMI in American Indians and Alaska Native and non-Hispanic white adolescents and young adults.

Race and ethnicity in context: International migration, political mobilization, and the welfare state.

This manuscript reviews the literature on race and ethnicity in the political context. It discusses the most important scholarship on international migration, political mobilization, and the welfare state to date, to identify current gaps and emerging lines of inquiry. Future studies are needed to better understand the mobilization of immigrants by political parties, the role of local politics for a national electoral mobilization, and the relationship between local and national political areas for policy development.

Pre-eclampsia in American Indians/Alaska Natives and Whites: The Significance of Body Mass Index.

Introduction The prevalence of pre-eclampsia, a major cause of maternal morbidity, varies by race, being greater in African Americans, and lower in Asians and Hispanics than in White women. Little is known about its prevalence in American Indians/Alaska Natives (AI/ANs). We estimated pre-eclampsia risk in AI/ANs compared to Whites, with consideration of the potential effect of obesity, a major risk factor for pre-eclampsia, and a condition disproportionately affecting AI/AN women.

Infant-feeding practices and American Indian infants' gut microbiome: Rationale of the pilot study.

This study aims to examine the relationship between infant-feeding practices and American Indian infants' gut microbiome--laying the foundation of a research program aimed at identifying potential aetiologies of childhood obesity in this population. Previous studies have emphasised the high prevalence of obesity in American Indian infants, but its underlying causes remain unclear. We received funding from the University of Washington to examine attitudes towards breastfeeding and formula feeding in American Indian mothers, their dietary and physical activity habits and the yield, quality and diversity of their infants' gut microbiome.

The Role of Language Use in Reports of Musculoskeletal Pain Among Hispanic and Non-Hispanic White Adolescents.

Objective: This study examined the role of English language use in the reported frequency of musculoskeletal pain among Hispanic and non-Hispanic White youth.

Method: This is a secondary data analysis using a cross-sectional sample of 12,189 Hispanic and non-Hispanic White adolescents recruited for the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health. Respondents were classified into three groups: (a) English-speaking non-Hispanic Whites, (b) English-speaking Hispanics, and (c) Spanish-speaking Hispanics.

Maternal correlates of body mass index in American Indian/Alaska Native and White adolescents: Differences between mother/son and mother/daughter pairs.

Introduction: Obesity rates for American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) adolescents are among the highest in the US. However, little is known about the influence of maternal correlates on adolescent body mass index (BMI), and the extent to which the size and significance of these correlates vary by adolescent sex and race.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional analysis with a sample of 531 AI/AN and 8896 White mother/adolescent pairs from Wave 1 of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health.

Challenges in conducting mHealth research with underserved populations: Lessons learned.

Previous studies have recognized the potential of mobile technology to improve health outcomes among underserved populations, but the challenges in conducting research into the use of mobile technology to improve health (mHealth) are not well understood. This manuscript identifies some of the most important challenges in conducting mHealth research with a sample of urban American Indian and Alaska Native mothers. We examined these challenges through an existing partnership with a community health agency.

Anti-foreigner Sentiment: State of the Art.

This review presents the contributions of anti-foreigner sentiment research, its theoretical and methodological limitations, and potential solutions for its further development. Six different explanations are proposed to account for the distribution of anti-foreigner sentiment within and across countries: economic competition, human capital, cultural affinity, social capital, political values, and the institutional environment. In this review, we argue that much of the extant literature heavily emphasizes variables, rather than causal mechanisms, and exhibits three main methodological limitations: (a) variable selection bias; (b) determining causality; and (c) endogeneity.