No abstract

There is limited research on the traditional Hispanic male and female gender roles of machismo and marianismo, respectively, in relation to negative cognitions and emotions. Given the vulnerability of Hispanics to negative cognitions and emotions, it is important to examine sociocultural correlates of emotional distress. Therefore, we examined associations of machismo and marianismo with negative cognitive-emotional factors (i.e., depression symptoms; cynical hostility; and trait anxiety and anger) in the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos Sociocultural Ancillary Study, a cross-sectional cohort study of sociocultural and psychosocial correlates of cardiometabolic health. Participants were aged 18–74 years and self-identified as Hispanic of Central American, Cuban, Dominican, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South American, and other Hispanic background (N = 4,426). Results revealed that specific components of machismo (traditional machismo) and marianismo (family and spiritual pillar dimensions) were associated with higher levels of negative cognitions and emotions after adjusting for socio-demographic factors (p < .05); these associations remained consistent across sex, Hispanic background group, and acculturation. Findings can inform mental health interventions and contribute to our understanding of the importance of gender role socialization in the context of self-reported negative cognitive-emotional factors in Hispanics.

Background Sedentary behavior is recognized as a distinct construct from lack of moderate-vigorous physical activity and is associated with deleterious health outcomes. Previous studies have primarily relied on self-reported data, while data on the relationship between objectively-measured sedentary time and cardiometabolic biomarkers are sparse, especially among U.S. Hispanics/Latinos. Methods and Results We examined associations of objectively-measured sedentary time (via Actical accelerometers for 7 days) and multiple cardiometabolic biomarkers among 12,083 participants, aged 18–74 years, from the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos. Hispanics/Latinos of diverse backgrounds (Central American, Cuban, Dominican, Mexican, Puerto Rican, and South American) were recruited from 4 U.S. cities between 2008 and 2011. Sedentary time (<100 counts/minute) was standardized to 16-hour/day of wear time. The mean sedentary time was 11.9 hours/day (74% of accelerometer wear time). After adjustment for moderate-vigorous physical activity and confounding variables, prolonged sedentary time was associated with decreased high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol (P=0.04), and increased triglycerides, 2-hour glucose, fasting insulin and HOMA-IR (all P<0.0001). These associations were generally consistent across age, sex, Hispanic/Latino backgrounds, and physical activity levels. Even among individuals meeting physical activity guidelines, sedentary time was detrimentally associated with several cardiometabolic biomarkers (diastolic blood pressure, HDL-cholesterol, fasting and 2-hour glucose, fasting insulin and HOMA-IR; all P<0.05). Conclusions Our large population-based, objectively-derived data showed deleterious associations between sedentary time and cardiometabolic biomarkers, independent of physical activity, in U.S. Hispanics/Latinos. Our findings emphasize the importance of reducing sedentary behavior for the prevention of cardiometabolic diseases, even in those who meet physical activity recommendations.