Creatinine levels among Mexican Americans, Puerto Ricans, and Cuban Americans in the Hispanic Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

Abstract

Although Latinos constitute the largest and fastest growing minority group in the United States, little is known about the prevalence of renal disease among different Latino subgroups. We used data from the Hispanic Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (HHANES) to compare serum creatinine measurements among Mexican Americans, mainland Puerto Ricans, and Cuban Americans. We compared estimated creatinine clearance across Latino subgroups adjusted for demographic, clinical, and socioeconomic characteristics (including known predictors of chronic kidney disease) using survey logistic regression analysis. Cuban Americans had higher mean serum creatinine levels than the other groups across both gender and age categories. In multivariable analysis, Puerto Ricans [odds ratio (OR) 1.74, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.16 to 2.60] and Cuban Americans (OR 4.59, CI 2.53 to 8.31) were more likely than the referent category of Mexican Americans to have an estimated creatinine clearance < 60 mL/min/1.73 m2. Serum creatinine levels differ substantially among Latino subgroups, suggesting national origin needs to be taken into consideration in studies of renal disease in Latinos. In addition, our findings highlight the need for more contemporary studies directly comparing both incidence rates of end-stage renal disease and measured renal function among Latino subgroups, perhaps leading to subgroup-specific prediction equations.