Vulnerability or Resiliency? A Two-Wave Panel Analysis of Social Network Factors Associated with Glycemic Levels among Mexican Immigrants in the Bronx, NYC, Before and During COVID-19.

Latinos have high rates of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) yet are characterized as having health-promoting social networks. The impacts of COVID-19 on personal networks were complex, especially in urban areas with high proportion of immigrants such as the Bronx in NYC. Our objective was to test the extent to which network characteristics increase vulnerability or resiliency for glycemic control based on data gathered from Mexican-origin Bronx dwellers. We used two-wave panel study analyzing self-reported personal social networks (n=30participants; 600network members) and HbA1c levels via dried blood spots in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic, and in 2021, a time after initial lockdowns and when the pandemic was still ravaging the community of study. Regression models adjusted for individual-level variables including sociodemographic and health indicators (i.e., physical health including COVID-19 and mental health). We found that an increase in the proportion of network members with diabetes predicted an increase in participant's HbA1c levels from 2019 to 2021 (ß=0.044, p < 0.05). Also, a greater proportion of network members consuming "an American diet" in 2019 predicted a decrease in participant's HbA1c levels (ß=-0.028, p < 0.01), while a greater proportion of network members that encouraged participants' health in 2019 predicted an increase in participant's HbA1c levels (ß=0.033, p < 0.05). Our study sheds light on specific social network characteristics relevant to individual diabetes outcomes, including potential longitudinal mechanistic effects that played out at the peak of the COVID-19 crisis.

Nosotros mismos nos estamos matando/We are the ones killing ourselves: Unraveling individual and network characteristics associated with negative dietary acculturation among Mexican Americans in New York City.

BACKGROUND: Research on negative dietary acculturation among Mexican-Americans has mostly focused on individual-level processes and has largely ignored the role of social networks. METHODS: This mixed-method study used an egocentric network approach and derived 1620 personal ties of self-identified Mexican adults in New York. 24-hour dietary recalls were used to derive a total Healthy Eating Index (HEI) and subscores. The qualitative portion generated narratives around who helps or hinders their efforts to eat healthfully. RESULTS: At the individual level, age at which participants migrated to the U.S. was negatively associated with total HEI (ß = -0.39, p < .01). An annual income below $30,000 was positively associated with total HEI (ß = 0.25, p < .05) and with HEI fruit subscores (ß = 0.25, p < .05). Acculturative stress was negatively associated with HEI fruit (ß = -0.29, p < .05) and refined grain subscores (ß = -0.34, p < .01). At the network level, the proportion of network members who consumed traditional Latino diets was negatively associated with total HEI and HEI refined grains subscores (ß = -0.39, p < .001; and ß = -0.23, p < .05; respectively). In contrast, the proportion of alters who lived in another country was positively associated with HEI dairy subscores (ß = 0.25, p < .05). Juxtaposing qualitative participants' visual representation of their total HEI scores with their lay interpretations of healthy and unhealthy eating matched public health messages of reducing sugar, red meat intake, and processed foods. However, participants felt that this could only be achieved through restriction rather than balance. Qualitative narratives also elucidated how dietary acculturation and income could help shape dietary quality in unexpected ways. CONCLUSIONS: This study found evidence of negative dietary acculturation and showcases the complex ways in which both individual- and network-level processes help shape dietary choices for Mexican-Americans.

Predictors of parent-child relationships that support physical activity in Mexican-American families.

Family-based physical activity (PA) interventions would benefit from research that identifies how to build support for PA among family members. This study examined the extent to which relationships of encouragement to do PA, and co-engagement in PA, exist among Mexican-American parents and children, and sought to identify individual, relational, and household factors associated with these dimensions of support. Participants were 224 Mexican-origin adults, with at least one child aged 5-20 years, participating in a larger study conducted between 2008 and 2010. In baseline surveys, adult participants enumerated the names and attributes of their family and kin; this study focuses on 455 parent-child dyads, nested in 118 households. Parental encouragement of PA in their children was found in about half of dyads, and in 20 % of dyads children encouraged parents. Encouragement relationships were highly reciprocal. Reciprocal parent-child encouragement was also positively associated with co-participation in PA; the latter found in just 17 % of dyads. Results indicated that relational, individual, and socio-cultural attributes were associated with PA support among parents and children, and provide insights into how these relationships might be fostered within Mexican-American families.