The Hispanic Health Paradox, as it Relates to Cardiovascular Disease

Public Deposited
Analytics

Downloadable Content

Download PDF
Request Version for Screen Reader
Last Modified
  • May 1, 2020
Creator
  • Stouffer, Joy
    • Affiliation: College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Global Studies
Abstract
  • The Hispanic health paradox (HHP) is an epidemiological paradox that describes the observation that the Hispanic population in the United States tends to have better health outcomes than would be expected, given the socioeconomic profile of this population. As a clear correlation between socioeconomic status (SES) and health outcomes has been established, one would expect the Hispanic population to have relatively poorer outcomes than the non-Hispanic (NH) white population and comparable outcomes to the NH black population. Among other health outcomes, the HHP has been observed with respect to cardiovascular disease (CVD), as analyses by the American Heart Association and Centers for Disease Control have shown that the Hispanic population has a lower prevalence of CVD than the NH white and NH black populations. However, some smaller studies challenge the existence of the HHP. Additionally, the impact of CVD risk factors (such as diabetes) and level of acculturation to the United States on the HHP is understudied. By utilizing data from the 2018 National Health Interview Survey, this thesis will support the existing literature that shows that the HHP is found with respect to CVD. I will also argue that the HHP with respect to CVD is present among populations with diabetes but to a lesser extent than within the general population. This suggests that the prevalence of CVD among Hispanic individuals in the general population may be artificially low due to lack of health care utilization. Finally, I will argue that the HHP is present among both U.S.-born and foreign-born populations, indicating that the high proportion of immigrants in the Hispanic population and “healthy immigrant selection” are not enough to account for the paradox.
Date of publication
DOI
Resource type
Rights statement
  • In Copyright
Advisor
  • Rubalcaba, Joaquin
    • Affiliation: College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Public Policy
Degree
  • Bachelor of Science
Graduation year
  • 2020
Language
  • English

Relations

Parents:

This work has no parents.

Items

Thumbnail Title Date Uploaded Visibility Actions
file details Joy_Stouffer_Honors_Thesis__April_2020.pdf 2020-05-01 Public Download