Dietary Intake and Risk of Coronary Heart Disease Differ among Ethnic Subgroups of Black Americans

Abstract

Coronary heart disease (CHD) morbidity and mortality are more prevalent in Blacks than Whites in the United States. Most studies evaluate the dietary intake and health of Black Americans as one group and do not consider possible differences among ethnic subgroups within the U.S. Black population. We used data from NHANES III to assess whether dietary intake, CHD risk factors, and predicted 10-y risk of CHD differed between non-Hispanic Black adults born in the United States (NHB-US), and non-Hispanic and Hispanic Black adults born outside of the United States (NHB-non US, HB-non US). Data were provided from single 24-h dietary recalls, biochemical measures, the medical examination, and self-reported responses to survey questions. NHB-US had higher intakes of energy, fat, protein, meat, added sugars, and sodium, and lower intakes of fruits, fiber, and most micronutrients. NHB-US also had higher predicted 10-y risk of developing CHD (5.8%) than NHB-non US (3.7%, P<0.001) or HB-non US (4.7%, P=0.017). Both immigrant groups had better CHD risk profiles and lower proportions of persons with metabolic syndrome and other CHD-related conditions. Our findings show differences in dietary intake and risk of CHD and related health conditions among ethnic subgroups of Blacks living in the United States. Future studies of diet and health should consider cultural differences within the Black population to better understand and reduce overall health disparities in the United States.

Diet Quality Varies by Race/Ethnicity of Head Start Mothers

“…Furthermore, the under-reporting criteria of EI:BMR <1.3 was higher than in many studies and some cutpoints range as low as <0.9 (48). Despite the fact that the sample was examined by race/ ethnic subgroups, it is still important for health professionals to recognize that within groups there can be further cultural differences in dietary intakes, especially with increasing time spent in the United States (8,49). Other studies have shown that education and household size appear to drive some of the differences in nutrient intakes not addressed in our study using a sample with limited incomes (12,16,32,50).…”

Inter- and independent effects of region and race/ethnicity on variety of fruit and vegetable consumption in the USA: 2011 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS)

“…Additionally, dietary acculturation in foreignborn populations may be a factor contributing to observed synergistic effects. Dietary acculturation tends to reduce fruit and vegetable consumption (40,41) , although there are differences between racial/ethnic groups and within ethnic subgroups (41)(42)(43) . As acculturation increases among Hispanic immigrant populations, consumption of legumes and fruit tends to decrease and non-leguminous vegetable consumption increases (41) .…”

“…Those that do often compare this subpopulation with non-Hispanic blacks born in the USA, who tend to consume less fruit (43) and different kinds of vegetables (e.g. more green leafy vegetables and white potatoes, fewer beans and yellow vegetables) (43) than foreign-born, non-Hispanic blacks. US regions are markedly different from one another in the proportion and diversity of their residents who were born outside the USA (44) .…”

The FAITH Trial: Baseline Characteristics of a Church-based Trial to Improve Blood Pressure Control in Blacks

“…Previous studies suggest that Blacks living in the United States but born outside of the United States have lower rates of cardiovascular disease risk and HTN. 37 These groups also have different dietary patterns 37 and may have different challenges and attitudes toward managing their BP. Although little examination of the health status and behaviors of these subpopulations of African descent have been done in [20][21][22][23]35,38,39 to our knowledge, FAITH is the first trial to rigorously evaluate the effect of a peer-led lifestyle intervention on BP reduction in a cohort of hypertensive Blacks.…”