A high burden of diabetes and ankle brachial index abnormalities exists in Mexican Americans in South Texas.

Ethnic differences exist in the United States in the interrelated problems of diabetes (DM), peripheral arterial disease (PAD), and leg amputations. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence and risk factor associations for subclinical PAD in a population sample of Mexican Americans using the ankle brachial (ABI) index. The ABI-High (higher of the two ankle pressures/highest brachial pressure) and ABI-Low (lower of the two ankle pressures/highest brachial pressure) were calculated to define PAD. Toe brachial index (TBI) was also calculated. 746 participants were included with an age of 53.4 ± 0.9 years, 28.3 % had diabetes mellitus (DM), 12.6 % were smokers, and 51.2 % had hypertension (HTN). Using ABI-High ≤ 0.9, the prevalence of PAD was 2.7 %. This rose to 12.7 % when an ABI-Low ≤ 0.9 was used; 4.0 % of the population had an ABI-High > 1.4. The prevalence of TBI < 0.7 was 3.9 %. DM was a significant risk factor for ABI-High ≤ 0.9 and ABI-High > 1.4, and TBI < 0.7. Increased age, HTN, smoking was associated with ABI-High ≤ 0.9, while being male was associated with ABI-High > 1.4. Increased age, smoking, and lower education were all associated with abnormal TBI. Despite relatively younger mean age than other studied Hispanic cohorts, the present population has a high burden of ABI abnormalities. DM was a consistent risk factor for PAD. These abnormalities indicate an important underlying substrate of vascular and metabolic disease that may predispose this population to the development of symptomatic PAD and incident amputations.

Erratum to "Effects of Exercise Training on Fat Loss and Lean Mass Gain in Mexican-American and Korean Premenopausal Women".

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1155/2017/5465869.].

Fruit and Vegetable Intake is Inversely Associated with Cancer Risk in Mexican-Americans.

Objective: There is inconsistent evidence and limited data in the Hispanic population concerning fruit and vegetable intake and cancer risk. This study explored the effect of fruit and vegetable intake on cancer risk in Mexican-Americans. Methods: Participants in this cross-sectional study were drawn from the Cameron County Hispanic Cohort. Consumption of fruits and vegetables were assessed using a validated questionnaire. Cancer was self-reported by the participants based on being told by a health care provider that they had cancer. Results: Among 2,381 participants with available dietary data, 82 reported a diagnosis of cancer. Participants who met recommendations of five or more servings of fruit and vegetable per day had a significantly 86% lower risk for reported cancer compared with those who did not meet recommendations, after adjusting for other covariates. Every portion increment of total fruit and vegetable intake was significantly associated with the reduced cancer risk by 11% with the adjustment of other covariates. Conclusions: Fruit and vegetable intake was inversely associated with cancer risk in Mexican-Americans. Improving the consumption of fruit and vegetable might be an effective area for further research as part of a strategy for cancer prevention and control among Mexican-Americans independent of other factors.

Association between fruit and vegetable intake and symptoms of mental health conditions in Mexican Americans.

OBJECTIVE: No studies so far have shown the effect of fruit and vegetable intake on mental disorders in Mexican Americans, for whom mental illness is an important health issue. This study measured the association of fruit and vegetable intake with the symptoms of cognitive impairment, the indication of increased risk of dementia, anxiety, and depression in Mexican Americans. METHOD: Participants were drawn from the Cameron County Hispanic Cohort (N = 3,943), a randomly selected Mexican American cohort in Texas on the United States-Mexico border. Consumption of fruit and vegetables and symptoms of four mental disorders were assessed using reliable and validated instruments. RESULTS: Among 2,702 participants (mean age = 50 years, 34% male) with available data, 213 had cognitive impairment, 61 had the indication of increased risk of dementia, 626 had depression, 196 had anxiety, and 787 (29.13%) had mental disorders (i.e., any symptoms of the above four disorders). Participants who met recommendations of 5 or more servings of fruits and vegetables per day were less likely to have anxiety (OR = 0.22, 95% CI [0.08, 0.65], cognitive impairment (OR = 0.16, 95% CI [0.05, 0.46]), and indication of increased risk of dementia (OR = 0.16, 95% CI [0.03, 0.86]) compared with those who did not meet recommendations, after adjusting for covariates. Every portion increment of total fruit and vegetable intake was significantly associated with the reduced odds of mental disorders by 11% and the odds of cognitive impairment by 32%, with the adjustment of other covariates. No significant associations were found between fruit and vegetable intake and depression. CONCLUSION: Fruit and vegetable intake was inversely associated with symptoms of cognitive impairment, the indication of increased risk of dementia, and anxiety in Mexican Americans. Improving consumption of fruit and vegetables may be a convenient target for mental disorder-symptoms prevention and control among Mexican Americans, independent of other factors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Transition from pre-diabetes to diabetes and predictors of risk in Mexican-Americans.

BACKGROUND: No studies have examined risk factors for the transition from pre-diabetes to diabetes in populations with widespread obesity and diabetes. We determined proximal changes and factors affecting the transition among Mexican-Americans with pre-diabetes. METHODS: Participants with pre-diabetes (n=285) were recruited from our randomly sampled population-based Cameron County Hispanic Cohort. These participants were followed for an average of 27 months with repeat examination every 3 to 4 months. Metabolic health was defined as having less than 2 metabolic abnormalities (e.g., hypertension, elevated low-density lipoprotein, etc). Diabetes was identified as fasting blood glucose ≥126 mg/dL, glycated hemoglobin ≥6.5% and/or on hypoglycemic medication. RESULTS: Ninety-six of 285 (33.7%) participants transitioned to overt diabetes. The increased risk of diabetes in the metabolically unhealthy varying with follow-up time was 81% (adjusted odds ratio [OR]: 1.81; 95% CI: 1.09-3.02). The risk of diabetes increased 8% for each kg/m2 of increase in body mass index (BMI, OR: 1.08; 95% CI: 1.05-1.11) independent of covariates. Transition to diabetes was accompanied by a mean increase in BMI of 0.28 kg/m2, and deterioration in metabolic health of 9% (OR: 1.09; 95% CI: 1.003-1.18) compared with those who did not transition. CONCLUSIONS: Deteriorating metabolic health and/or increasing BMI significantly raises the risk of transitioning from pre-diabetes to diabetes. Transition itself was accompanied by further increase in BMI and deterioration in metabolic health. These data underline the importance of improving metabolic health and avoiding weight gain in pre-diabetes as simple but clear diabetes prevention targets, and emphasize the importance of lifestyle management.

Effects of Exercise Training on Fat Loss and Lean Mass Gain in Mexican-American and Korean Premenopausal Women.

We investigated the effect of exercise training on body composition change in women. Nineteen Mexican-American and 18 Korean premenopausal overweight/obese women were randomized into one of the following groups: control, low-intensity training group (LI), and high-intensity training group (HI). Subjects completed 12 weeks of training at 50-56% maximal oxygen consumption (LI) or 65-70% maximal oxygen consumption (HI). Body composition components were measured at baseline and after training using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry for Mexican-Americans, while whole-body composition was measured by the direct segmental multifrequency bioelectrical impedance analysis and abdominal fat was measured by single-slice computed tomography for Koreans. Data were analyzed using mixed-model repeated measures independent of age, ethnicity, and body mass index (BMI). Exercise training showed a significant effect on BMI, fat percentage, fat mass, lean mass, and visceral adipose tissue area. HI significantly decreased fat mass and fat percentage but increased lean mass (all P < 0.05). LI significantly reduced BMI, fat mass, fat percentage, and visceral adipose tissue area but increased lean mass (all P < 0.05). Exercise training had a beneficial effect on reducing BMI, fat percentage, fat mass, and visceral adipose tissue area but had no effect on increasing lean mass for Mexican-American and Korean premenopausal overweight/obese women.

Recommended Levels of Physical Activity Are Associated with Reduced Risk of the Metabolic Syndrome in Mexican-Americans.

PURPOSE: To measure the association between physical activity and the metabolic syndrome risk in Mexican-Americans. METHODS: Participants were drawn from the Cameron County Hispanic Cohort (n = 3,414), a randomly selected Mexican-American cohort in Texas on the US-Mexico border. Moderate and vigorous physical activity was assessed using reliable and validated instruments. The metabolic syndrome was defined as having 3 or more metabolic abnormalities. RESULTS: One thousand five hundred and twenty-four participants of the cohort (45.02%) were found to have the metabolic syndrome. Compared to participants who did not meet US physical activity guidelines, participants who met physical activity guidelines of 150 moderate and vigorous minutes per week (≥ 600 MET adjusted minutes) had 36% lower risk for the metabolic syndrome (OR = 0.64; 95% CI: 0.42-0.98), and participants with total minutes per week of moderate and vigorous/strenuous activity greater than 743 MET adjusted minutes had 37% lower risk for the metabolic syndrome (OR = 0.63; 95% CI: 0.42-0.94) compared with their counterparts, after adjusting for age, gender, annual household income, body mass index, smoking and alcohol drinking status, total portions of fruit and vegetable intake, census tracts and blocks, and survey version for physical activity. CONCLUSIONS: Meeting or exceeding physical activity guidelines significantly was inversely associated with the risk for the metabolic syndrome in Mexican-Americans. Improving levels of physical activity appears to be an effective target for the metabolic syndrome prevention and control among Mexican-Americans independent of other factors.

Metabolic Health Has Greater Impact on Diabetes than Simple Overweight/Obesity in Mexican Americans.

PURPOSE: To compare the risk for diabetes in each of 4 categories of metabolic health and BMI. METHODS: Participants were drawn from the Cameron County Hispanic Cohort, a randomly selected Mexican American cohort in Texas on the US-Mexico border. Subjects were divided into 4 phenotypes according to metabolic health and BMI: metabolically healthy normal weight, metabolically healthy overweight/obese, metabolically unhealthy normal weight, and metabolically unhealthy overweight/obese. Metabolic health was defined as having less than 2 metabolic abnormalities. Overweight/obese status was assessed by BMI higher than 25 kg/m(2). Diabetes was defined by the 2010 ADA definition or by being on a diabetic medication. RESULTS: The odds ratio for diabetes risk was 2.25 in the metabolically healthy overweight/obese phenotype (95% CI 1.34, 3.79), 3.78 (1.57, 9.09) in the metabolically unhealthy normal weight phenotype, and 5.39 (3.16, 9.20) in metabolically unhealthy overweight/obese phenotype after adjusting for confounding factors compared with the metabolically healthy normal weight phenotype. CONCLUSIONS: Metabolic health had a greater effect on the increased risk for diabetes than overweight/obesity. Greater focus on metabolic health might be a more effective target for prevention and control of diabetes than emphasis on weight loss alone.

Meeting or Exceeding Physical Activity Guidelines is Associated with Reduced Risk for Cancer in Mexican-Americans.

BACKGROUND: Epidemiologic studies have shown that inadequate physical activity was associated with cancers in whites and other ethnic groups, but in Mexican-Americans data are limited. This study aimed to measure the association between physical activity and reported cancer risk in Mexican-Americans. METHODS: Participants were drawn from the Cameron County Hispanic Cohort (n=3,391), a randomly selected Mexican-American cohort in Texas on the US-Mexico border. Physical activity was assessed using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire. Cancer was self-reported by the participants as being told by a health care provider that they had cancer. RESULTS: Ninety-nine participants of the cohort (2.94%) reported a diagnosis of cancer. Compared to participants who did not meet US physical activity guidelines, subjects who met physical activity guidelines of 150 moderate and vigorous minutes per week (≥ 600 METs) reduced their risk for cancer by 87% (OR=0.13; 95% CI: 0.03-0.54), and subjects with total minutes per week of moderate and vigorous/strenuous activity greater than 745 METs decreased cancer risk by 86% [odds ratio (OR)=0.14; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.03-0.60] comparing with their counterparts, after adjusting for age, gender, body mass index, smoking and alcohol drinking status, education and total portions of fruit and vegetable intake. CONCLUSIONS: Meeting or exceeding recommended levels of moderate and vigorous physical activity was associated with a significantly reduced risk of reporting cancer by Mexican-Americans. Meeting or exceeding recommended levels of physical activity appears to be an effective target for cancer prevention and control among Mexican-Americans independent of BMI and other factors.