Cardiovascular health among diverse Hispanics/Latinos: Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL) results.
BACKGROUND
Seven national 2020 Strategic Impact Goals for cardiovascular health (Life's Simple 7 [LS7]) estimates for major ethnic/racial groups are available, but not for diverse Hispanics/Latinos. Herein, we describe and examine LS7 profiles of diverse Hispanic/Latino groups.


METHODS
HCHS/SOL (analytic n = 15,825; ages 18-74 years) data were used to estimate LS7 metrics. LS7 metrics were operationalized as Ideal, Intermediate, or Poor and indexed as an additive score. We calculated Hispanic/Latino group and sex-specific prevalence estimates for LS7 metrics and used survey-based regression models to examine (1) associations between LS7 scores and pertinent sociocultural characteristics and (2) relationships between LS7 scores and coronary heart disease, and stroke and transient ischemic attacks prevalence.


RESULTS
Few HCHS/SOL participants met all 7 Ideal LS7 criteria (<1%), and a similarly small proportion did not meet any Ideal LS7 criteria (1.1%). We found significant variability in LS7 distributions between men and women and across HCHS/SOL Hispanic/Latino heritages. We also found a substantial sex-adjusted age gradient in LS7 cardiovascular health (ie, ≥4 Ideal LS7s). Finally, higher Ideal LS7 scores were associated with decreased odds of both coronary heart disease and self-reported stroke/transient ischemic attack; these associations persisted after model covariate adjustments.


CONCLUSIONS
Hispanic/Latino LS7s compared favorably with existing national estimates; however, we found areas for improvement. Several Hispanic/Latino LS7 strengths and weaknesses varied by sex and heritage, providing important information to guide targeted health promotion efforts toward achieving 2020 goals.
Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI. Electronic address: hmgonzalez@epi.msu.edu.
Hector M
HM
González
Institute of Gerontology, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI.
Wassim
W
Tarraf
Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC.
Carlos J
CJ
Rodríguez
San Diego State University, San Diego, CA.
Linda C
LC
Gallo
Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL.
Ralph L
RL
Sacco
San Diego State University, San Diego, CA.
Gregory A
GA
Talavera
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Chapel, NC.
Gerardo
G
Heiss
Einstein University, New York, NY.
Jorge R
JR
Kizer
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL.
Rosalba
R
Hernandez
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Chapel, NC.
Sonia
S
Davis
University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL.
Neil
N
Schneiderman
University of Illinois, Chicago, IL.
Martha L
ML
Daviglus
Einstein University, New York, NY.
Robert C
RC
Kaplan
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000208:ethnology; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003466:Cultural Characteristics; D005260:Female; D054624:Health Status Disparities; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology