Socio-Economic and Health Conditions of an Afro-Mexican Rural Population in the State of Veracruz, Mexico, 2007

Abstract

The black population's biological, historical and socio-cultural impact on the Mexi- can people is unquestionable. However, there has never been a study of the state of this population's health that focuses on the Afro-Mexican population as a socio-historic variable in a rural and regional context. Such a study could be of great importance if we consider that, for a democracy such as Mexico's, discrepancies in health levels for differ- ent social/racial groups in communities, municipalities and states are a good measure of the level of social justice achieved by a given group. In other words, differences in health are often due to social, economic, political and cultural conditions that in some way limit or favor resource accessibility. Ethno-historical and socio-cultural research into Mexico's third racial origin has been surging since the end of the twentieth century. Moreover, a group of biomedical researchers has maintained a degree of interest in Afro-Mexican, and other, populations. As a result of such interest, work of great importance has been realized. Nevertheless, there seems to be a lack of interest in studying the state of these populations' health—especially an interest that focuses on the state of the Afro-Mexican population as a socio-historic variable in its rural and regional contexts (the current Afro-Mexican population is established primarily along the coasts of the states of Oaxaca, Guerrero, Michoacan, as well as Veracruz, Tabasco and Campeche). Emerging problems In the past few decades, lifestyle and physical activity among both urban and rural populations have been modified throughout the country: generally, caloric intake has increased and exercise has notably decreased. The result has been an upswing in the in- cidence of excess weight/obesity and in cardiovascular disease, dyslipidemia, diabetes, hypertension, and other issues. Ethnicity, from a socio-historical point of view, is one of the factors that determine health and lifestyle: while descendents of indigenous Ameri- cans and Asians have a higher susceptibility to diabetes, hypertriglyceridemia, and low HDL cholesterol, descendents of the black population have a higher frequency of arterial hypertension and extreme obesity. Still, in Mexico there are virtually no studies dealing