Publications by authors named "M Lopez-Pentecost"

Purpose: Cancer remains the leading cause of death among Hispanics in the US. While social determinants of health, such as educational attainment, have been linked to negative health outcomes, their biological mechanisms remain poorly understood. We evaluated the association between educational attainment and allostatic load (AL), a measure of chronic physiologic stress, with risk of cancer mortality in Hispanic women from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: We aimed to prospectively evaluate the association between a diabetes risk reduction diet (DRRD) score and the risk of liver cancer development and chronic liver disease-specific mortality.

Methods: We included 98,786 postmenopausal women from the Women's Health Initiative-Observational Study and the usual diet arm of the Diet Modification trial. The DRRD score was derived from eight factors: high intakes of dietary fiber, coffee, nuts, polyunsaturated fatty acids, low intakes of red and processed meat, foods with high glycemic index, sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs), and trans fat based on a validated Food-Frequency Questionnaire administered at baseline (1993-1998).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: To examine the association of a traditional Mexican diet score with risk of total, breast, and colorectal cancer among women of Mexican ethnic descent in the Women's Health Initiative (WHI).

Methods: Participants were WHI enrollees who self-identified as being of Mexican descent. Data from food frequency questionnaires self-administered at study baseline were used to calculate the MexD score, with higher scores indicating greater adherence to an a priori-defined traditional Mexican diet (high in dietary fiber, vegetables, and legumes).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Culturally adapted behavior interventions are needed to support lifestyle behavior change for survivors of cancer.

Objectives: To identify programming preferences of Mexicanorigin female survivors of breast cancer living on the U.S.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: The objective of this study was to examine the effect of disability status and social determinants of health (SDOH) on adherence to breast and cervical cancer screening recommendations during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: We conducted a secondary analysis of the 2018 and 2020 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) data sets. We defined adherence to screenings according to the US Preventive Services Task Force guidelines for breast and cervical cancer screening.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF