Linda Van Horn, PhD, RD, professor of preventive medicine and chief of the department of nutrition, is co-author of the study published in the journal Circulation.
Dietary acculturation may increase the risk of heart disease for people of Hispanic or Latino descent in the United States, according to a study published in the journal Circulation.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Hispanic or Latino people make up 19 percent of the U.S. population but have a disproportionately higher incidence of cardiovascular disease compared to the national average.
Although it's generally accepted that dietary assimilation — the adoption of the diet of a dominant culture by immigrant groups — affects health, its impact on heart health is less well understood, said study co-author Dr. Linda Van Horn, professor of preventive medicine and chief of the department of nutrition.
The study involved more than 14,000 Hispanics and Latinos taking part in a series of assessments over a 15-year period. Study participants recorded the foods they ate and provided blood and stool samples. Researchers then assigned participants a dietary acculturation score based on how long they had lived in the United States.
The researchers then analyzed the study participants' rates of heart disease and found that a more anabolic diet was associated with an increased risk of heart disease and cardiovascular disease. Study participants whose diets were more anabolic also showed more metabolic changes associated with cardiovascular disease, according to the study.
Van Horn said the findings suggest that adopting different eating patterns can affect the health of Hispanics and Latinos, especially when they go from a diet high in fruits, vegetables and whole grains to one high in fried, processed and salty foods.
“This is a very interesting and high-profile study that provides new and ongoing data being collected on the health, disparities and social determinants of health of more and less culturally and educationally educated participants and their families,” Van Horn said.
Moving forward, Van Horn and his colleagues plan to continue studying the effects of dietary cultural adaptation on heart health.
“There is a lot of interest nationwide in continuing this study over the next five years,” Van Horn said, “and it has been significantly expanded to include offspring, siblings and other family members of the participants originally recruited and enrolled. I am most interested in diet-related risk factors, dietary assessments and cultural adaptations.”
This research was funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.
