Acculturation and Diabetes Risk in the Mexican American Mano a Mano Cohort.

Abstract

To investigate the association between acculturation and diabetes risk in the Mexican American Mano a Mano (hand to hand) Cohort. We recruited 15 975 men and women in the Houston, Texas, area from 2001 to 2014. We used language use, birth country, and duration of US residence (among Mexico-born) to assess acculturation. Participants self-reported a physician's diagnosis of diabetes during annual follow-up over an average of 5.4 (range = 1-13) years. Self-reported diabetes status was validated in medical records for a subset of 235 participants with 98% agreement. Diabetes risk was higher among immigrants with 15 to 19, 20 to 24, and 25 or more years (relative risk = 1.47; 95% confidence interval = 1.07, 2.01) of US residence, relative to those with less than 5 years. Neither language acculturation nor birth country was significantly associated with diabetes risk. Among participants born in Mexico, diabetes risk increased with longer duration of US residence.