The State of Diabetes in U.S. Hispanics: Knowledge, Action and Opportunities Meeting of the Diabetes Mellitus Interagency Coordinating Committee May 29, 2012

Overview of Demographics of Hispanic Populations in the United States—Dr. Larissa Avilés-Santa, NHLBI, NIH Dr. Avilés-Santa noted that as Hispanic people immigrate to the United States, they bring with them cultural differences rooted in the regions of Latin America they come from: cultural distinctions that affect not only lifestyle and dietary choices, but also knowledge and attitudes regarding health and disease. Indeed, a majority do not identify with the terms Hispanic or Latino, but rather self-identify according to country of origin. She noted that the proportional population growth of these different groups in the last 10 years has varied, but has generally been fastest not in the U.S. regions that have been Hispanic population centers for many years, but rather in other areas throughout the country—an affect of immigration and birth rate, as well as longevity. She highlighted a key question that remains to be answered: whether various groups of Hispanic Americans share similar burdens of disease risk, or whether there is significant variation among health outcomes. Unfortunately, she noted that the most recent available data on U.S. Hispanic health comes from the 1991 Hispanic Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (Hispanic HANES) study, which focused only on the Mexican, Cuban, and Puerto Rican populations, which were considered the major immigrant groups when the data were collected. In closing, Dr. Avilés-Santa underlined the critical importance of updating these data to reflect the numerous demographic and public health changes that have affected Hispanic peoples in the years since.