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This study examined associations of immigrant generation, acculturation, and sources of stress and resilience with four outcomes—depression symptoms, anxiety symptoms, alcohol susceptibility, and smoking susceptibility. We used data from 1466 youth (ages 8-16) enrolled in the Hispanic Community Health Study of Latino Youth (SOL Youth), a probability sample of Hispanic/Latino youth living in Chicago (IL), Miami (FL), Bronx (NY), and San Diego (CA). We found no evidence of an immigrant paradox. Greater children's acculturative stress was associated with depression/anxiety symptoms; greater parent's acculturative stress was associated with smoking susceptibility. Family functioning and children's ethnic identity were associated with fewer depression/anxiety symptoms and lower alcohol/smoking susceptibility. Although acculturation-related stressors increase youths' risks for poor mental health and substance use, the development of positive ethnic identities and close, well-functioning family support systems can help protect Latino/Hispanic children from the negative behavioral and health-related consequences of stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective(s): Cross-sectional and longitudinal studies have yielded inconsistent findings on the associations of social support networks with cardiovascular health in Hispanic/Latino adults with diabetes. We examined the cross-sectional associations of structural social support and traditional cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors in a diverse sample of Hispanic/Latino adults with diabetes. Research Design and Methods: This analysis included 2994 adult participants ages 18-74 with diabetes from the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL - 2008-2011). Select items from the Social Network Inventory (SNI) were used to assess indices of structural social support, i.e. network size (number of children, parents, and in-laws) and frequency of familial contact. Standardized methods were used to measure abdominal obesity, BMI, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, and smoking status. Multivariate regression was used to examine associations of structural support with individual CVD risk factors with demographics, acculturation, physical health, and psychological ill-being (depressive symptoms and anxiety) included as covariates. Results: There were no significant cross-sectional associations of structural support indices with abdominal obesity, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, or smoking status. There was a marginally significant (OR: 1.05; 95%CI 0.99-1.11) trend toward higher odds of obesity in participants reporting a larger family unit (including children, parents, and in-laws) and those with closer ties with extended family relatives (OR: 1.04; 95%CI 0.99-1.09). Conclusions: Structural social support was marginally associated with higher odds of obesity in Hispanic/Latino adults with diabetes. Alternate forms of social support (e.g. healthcare professionals, friends, peers) should be further explored as potential markers of cardiac risk in Hispanics/Latinos with diabetes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Implementing evidence-based recommendations for treating pediatric overweight and obesity is challenging in low-resource settings. We conducted a randomized controlled trial to evaluate the effects of implementing the American Academy of Pediatrics overweight/obesity recommendations using a Standard Care approach alone or with the addition of an enhanced program in a safety-net pediatric primary care setting (located in Bronx, New York, United States). Methods: In a 12-month trial, families of children (age 7--12 years; body mass index ≥85th American percentile for age and sex; 74% self-identified as Hispanic/Latino; n = 360) were randomly assigned to receive Standard Care Alone or Standard Care + Enhanced Program. An English/Spanish bilingual staff provided the Standard Care Alone consisting of quarterly semi-structured pediatrician visits targeting family-based behavioral changes. The Standard Care + Enhanced Program was enriched with eight Skill-Building Core and monthly Post-Core Support sessions. Results: The mean body mass index Z-score declined in both arms (P < 0.01) with no significant difference between the Standard Care Alone (0.12 kg [SE: 0.03]) and Standard Care + Enhanced Program (0.15 kg [SE: 0.03]) arm (P =0.15). Compared to the Standard Care Alone, the Standard Care + Enhanced Program resulted in significantly greater improvements in total cholesterol (P = 0.05), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (P = 0.04), aspartate aminotransferase (P =0.02), and alanine transaminase (P = 0.03) concentrations. Conclusions: Safety-net primary care settings can provide efficacious pediatric weight management services. Targeted family-based behavioral counseling helps overweight/obese children achieve a modest body mass index Z-score improvement. A more intensive lifestyle intervention program may improve some metabolic parameters. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT00851201. Registered 23 February 2009. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a study which examined associations between youth and caregiver moderate/vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and sedentary (SED) time using accelerometry. Topics covered include the correlation of MVPA and SED within Latino families, the idea that physical activity and sedentary behaviors are a function of multiple influences and the variation in the strength of effects of associations between parent and youth activity.

Plasma fibrinogen has emerged as a risk factor for cardiovascular disease in adults, but relatively little is known about the correlates of plasma fibrinogen level in childhood. In the Columbia University BioMarkers Study (1994–1998), the authors evaluated the association between physical fitness and plasma fibrinogen level in 193 children 4–25 years old; 68% were Hispanic and 46% male. Fitness level assessed by treadmill testing was inversely associated with plasma fibrinogen (r = −0.24, p < 0.001). Plasma fibrinogen levels showed a graded inverse relation with tertiles of fitness assessed by treadmill (p < 0.001). In multivariate analyses, after adjustment for age, sex, race/ethnicity, body mass index, and presence of the A allele in the −455 position of the β-fibrinogen promoter gene, the fitness level remained inversely associated with plasma fibrinogen level (β = −1.3, 95% confidence interval (CI): −2.3, −0.34). Resting heart rate was also correlated with plasma fibrinogen level (r = 0.18, p < 0.05). Fibrinogen levels (mg/dl) increased over tertiles of resting heart rate (p = 0.002) and were significantly associated with resting heart rate in multivariate analysis (β = 0.82, 95% CI: 0.17, 1.5). These findings indicate that plasma fibrinogen is inversely associated with physical fitness in children independent of body mass index. Am J Epidemiol 2000;152:212–18. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]