Abstract
BackgroundFew population-based studies of Arab American health behaviors and outcomes exist outside of Michigan. We aimed to provide prevalence estimates of health behaviors and outcomes for Arab Americans and compare them to non-Hispanic Whites in California.MethodsWe used data from the 2003–2016 California Health Interview Surveys. We determined Arab American ethnicity using an algorithm that considered place of birth of the respondent or parent and use of Arabic language at home. Survey-weighted frequencies, chi-squared statistics, and logistic regression analyses were used to compare Arab Americans and non-Hispanic Whites on socioeconomic indicators, health behaviors and health outcomes. Multivariable models were adjusted for age, education level, and insurance status.ResultsArab Americans had higher prevalence of no insurance, living below the federal poverty level, and home ownership than non-Hispanic Whites despite high levels of education and low unemployment prevalence. Arab Americans had reduced odds of alcohol consumption (OR: 0.33, 95% CI: 0.24, 0.45), binge drinking (OR: 0.28, 95% CI: 0.19, 0.40), and suicidal ideation (OR: 0.41, 0.25, 0.66) when compared to non-Hispanic Whites in multivariable models. Arab Americans had decreased odds of hypertension (OR: 0.64, 95% CI: 0.50, 0.83) and increased odds of diabetes (OR: 2.03, 95% CI: 1.23, 3.34) when compared to non-Hispanic Whites in multivariable models.ConclusionsArab Americans in California participate in less risky health behaviors and have better health outcomes than non-Hispanic Whites, except with regards to diabetes. Future work aiming to understand the health of Arab Americans should allow for self-identification and less reliance on country of origin and language use at home for sample selection.
Highlights
Few population-based studies of Arab American health behaviors and outcomes exist outside of Michigan
Health behaviors We aimed to examine health behaviors that were relevant for the health and wellbeing of the general adult population in California and that were included as questions on California Health Interview Survey (CHIS), excluding screening tests
More male Arab Americans were identified than non-Hispanic Whites (54.9 vs. 49.0%, p < 0.05), and the age distribution of the two groups differed with more Arab Americans aged 30–49 (42.2 vs. 33.8% among non-Hispanic Whites, p < 0.001) and more nonHispanic Whites aged 50 or over (49.9 vs. 25.5% among Arab Americans, p < 0.001)
Summary
Few population-based studies of Arab American health behaviors and outcomes exist outside of Michigan. We aimed to provide prevalence estimates of health behaviors and outcomes for Arab Americans and compare them to non-Hispanic Whites in California. Arab Americans are an understudied minority population in the United States (US) for whom health research is slowly and steadily increasing [1]. It is estimated that there are approximately 3.7 million Arab Americans in the United States [2]. Persons who classify themselves as Arab American are told to self-identify as White, and in some cases, like in the case of the Census, are recoded from Other to White based on an indication of origin from the Middle East and North Africa [9]. The social pressures this group faces, including an increased risk of hate crimes [11] and other instances of racism, influence health in this population
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
